Trump loyalist Kash Patel confirmed as FBI director by Senate

WASHINGTON: The Republican-controlled US Senate on Thursday confirmed Kash Patel, a staunch loyalist who has threatened to go after President Donald Trump’s political enemies, as director of the FBI, the country’s top law enforcement agency.

Patel, 44, whose nomination sparked fierce but ultimately futile opposition from Democrats, was approved by a 51-49 vote.

The vote was split along party lines with the exception of two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who voted not to confirm Patel to head the 38,000-strong Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Patel drew fire from Democrats for his promotion of conspiracy theories, his defence of pro-Trump rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and his vow to root out members of a supposed "deep state" plotting to oppose the Republican president.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, in a Senate speech opposing Patel’s nomination, said he is "dangerously, politically extreme" and has "repeatedly expressed his intention to use our nation’s most important law enforcement agency to retaliate against his political enemies."

The Senate has approved all of Trump’s cabinet picks so far, underscoring his iron grip on the Republican Party.

Among them is Tulsi Gabbard, confirmed as the nation’s spy chief despite past support for adversarial nations including Russia and Syria, and vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be health secretary.

Patel, in a statement on X, said he was honoured to become the FBI director.

"The American people deserve an FBI that is transparent, accountable, and committed to justice," he said.

"The politicisation of our justice system has eroded public trust—but that ends today," he added. "My mission as Director is clear: let good cops be cops—and rebuild trust in the FBI.

"And to those who seek to harm Americans—consider this your warning," he said. "We will hunt you down in every corner of this planet."

‘Enemies list’

Patel replaces Christopher Wray, who was named FBI chief by Trump during his first term.

Relations between Wray and Trump became strained, however, and though he had three years left in his 10-year tenure, Wray resigned after Trump won November’s presidential election.

A son of Indian immigrants and former federal prosecutor, the New York-born Patel served in several high-level posts during Trump’s first administration, including as senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council.

There were fiery exchanges at Patel’s confirmation hearing last month as Democrats brought up a list of 60 supposed "deep state" actors—all critics of Trump—he included in a 2022 book, whom he said should be investigated or "otherwise reviled."

Patel has denied having an "enemies list" and told the Senate Judiciary Committee he was merely interested in bringing lawbreakers to book.

"All FBI employees will be protected against political retribution," he said.

The FBI has been in turmoil since Trump took office, and a number of agents have been fired or demoted, including some involved in the prosecutions of Trump for seeking to overturn the 2020 election results and mishandling classified documents.

Nine FBI employees have sued the Justice Department seeking to block efforts to collect information on agents who were involved in investigating Trump and the Capitol riot.

In their complaint, the FBI agents said the efforts were part of a "purge" orchestrated by Trump as "politically motivated retribution."

Trump, on his first day in the White House, pardoned more than 1,500 of his supporters who stormed Congress in a bid to block certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.