Kash Patel, Trump's pick for FBI director, answers questions on Jan. 6 , QAnon, and more
President Donald Trump’s new administration looked ahead to key Senate hearings this week for three of his most controversial nominees, Kash Patel, Tulsi Gabbard and RFK, Jr.
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Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., described the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearing of FBI nominee Kash Patel as not "particularly constructive" in a brief gaggle with reporters Thursday.
"The hearing so far today mostly consist of Republicans asking, 'tell me why America is the greatest country on earth and why you're a patriot,' and the Democrats saying, 'Is it not true that you said this, and this and this?'" Coons told reporters.
"It hasn't been a particularly constructive hearing from that perspective," he added.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told reporters at the capitol that he thought Kash Patel, President Trump's pick to lead the FBI, was "doing really well so far."
Amid Patel's marathon hearing Thursday reporters caught the GOP senator outside his office and took the chance to ask him his opinion of Patel's performance thus far.
"He's doing really well so far," Lee responded. Meanwhile, when asked if he thought any Democrats would vote for Patel, Lee responded that he believed there would be.
Trump's pick for FBI director faced questions from senators Thursday for more than 5 hours. Patel said during his hearing that, if confirmed, his priorities will include going after violent crime and exposing "any government corruption" while restoring "the trust" in the bureau.
Democrats sounded off about the White House sending U.S. troops to the southern border — but Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll insists he does not believe it will affect readiness.
"Is there a cost in terms of readiness?" Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat in the Senate Armed Services Committee, asked Driscoll during his confirmation hearing on Thursday.
"The Army has a long, 249 history of balancing multiple objectives," Driscoll said. "If this is important to the commander-in-chief, the Army will execute it."
"I think border security is national security," he went on. "We’ve had soldiers at the border for a number of years, and the Army stands ready for any mission.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., also voiced concerns about sending the military to the U.S. border.
"We're seeing now active duty military, Army, be sent to the border, being sent on missions right now to support" the Department of Homeland Security, she said. "But according to our Constitution, the U.S. military active duty cannot perform law enforcement roles."
Excerpted story by Morgan Phillips.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said President Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, was giving "the appearance" that he is hiding something after he refused to share his grand jury testimony from the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified records.
"The appearance here is that you have something to hide. I submit to my colleagues on the committee, we need to know what the grand jury testimony is ... and you have no objection to our seeking it but you won't tell us. Even in a classified, confidential setting. I think that position is disqualifying."
Patel told lawmakers during his Thursday hearing that he was unable to share his testimony due to grand jury confidentiality rules. He was subpoenaed in 2022 to respond to questions about whether Trump had ordered the classified documents in question to be declassified before taking them to his personal residence.
"What are you hiding?" questioned Blumenthal. "Why won't you tell us?"
Trump FBI nominee Kash Patel said if confirmed, his priorities will include going after violent crime and exposing "any government corruption" while restoring "the tust" in the bureau during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"The two themes that if I'm confirmed that I have for the FBI are really just going back to keeping it simple," Patel said during Thursday's hearing. "One, that good cops be cops. 100,000 drug overdoses, 100,000 rapes, 17,000 homicides. That's only with 70% of the precincts reporting in. That is violent crime exploding out of control."
"And I'm going to let good cops be cops and put handcuffs on the bad guys and put child molesters in prison and put murderers in prison and make sure CP fentanyl doesn't kill another one of your constituents," he continued. "That's track one, track two, to restore the trust in the FBI that has degraded not by my opinion, by the Gallup poll that only 40% of Americans have trust and faith in the FBI. It is a cataclysmic failure in leadership to get to that point."
Patel added the FBI must "work with Congress ... to expose any government corruption" and "provide government accountability through transparency."
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., clashed with FBI director nominee Kash Patel during his confirmation hearing on Thursday, particularly over a recording of a song released by Capitol Riot inmates.
Schiff began by asking Patel if he stood by prior testimony that he had nothing to do with the recording of the song, which the Democrat said featured President Donald Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
"[That] is interesting because here's what you told Steve Bannon on his podcast: ‘So what we thought would be cool is if we captured that audio ... Then we went to a studio and recorded it, mastered it, digitized it, and put it out as a song’."
Schiff asked Patel why he told Bannon that.
"That’s why it says ‘we’ as you highlighted," Patel incredulously shot back.
"Yeah, and you’re part of that ‘we’ – right – when you say ‘we’ that includes you, Mr. Patel," Schiff angrily replied.
"Not in every instance." Patel said, adding he did not personally partake in the recording or mastering of the single.
FBI Director-nominee Kash Patel sparred with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., over whether he could release his testimony to a grand jury that investigated President Donald Trump's handling of classified information.
Whitehouse contended that the law states that grand jury rule 6E relating to testimony does not apply to witnesses.
He asked Patel if he therefore authorizes the Senate Judiciary Committee to view his testimony.
"I cant go into court orders granted by the DC district chief judge," Patel later replied.
"If they apply to you, of course you can," Whitehouse responded.
"You want me to violate a court order?" asked Patel.
"You're saying that there is a secret court order in which you cannot tell if you're subject to a court order or not?" the Ocean State Democrat followed-up.
The lawmaker later moved on to ask Patel to pledge to preserve all FBI records, particularly to those relating to criminal probes of Trump.
Patel agreed.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., blasted his Democrat colleagues on the Judiciary committee for leveling partisan questions about Jan. 6 and the 2020 election during Kash Patel's confirmation hearing to be the next director of the FBI.
"Come on guys, let's be real here. If anything, I hope I've been consistent. Let's just be balanced. You know, really? We've had colleagues on the other side of the aisle call President Trump an illegitimate president," Tillis said during the Thursday hearing. "The witness has acknowledged that President Biden's election was certified. If you want to abuse a specific word -- what are we in high school? I mean, come on."
Social media users took to the internet following Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Wednesday confirmation hearing to ask questions about whether the HHS Secretary nominee inserted a synthetic nicotine pouch into his mouth while being probed by senators.
A clip of the HHS Secretary nominee circulating on social media showed him seemingly inserting one of the Zyn pouches into his mouth Wednesday. Meanwhile, another clip appears to show RFK Jr. holding the traditional plastic case that most Wintergreen flavored Zyn pouches come in.
Sen. Cory Booker got into a heated exchange with Trump FBI director nominee Kash Patel Thursday over whether Patel has testified to witnessing President Donald Trump declassifying documents after his first presidency.
The now-dropped case focused on allegations that Trump unlawfully retained sensitive government materials at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructed efforts to retrieve them after leaving office following his first term.
"So you're not willing to tell Congress after making many pledges today about transparency, whether or not you testified to witnessing the President of the United States declassify documents? In the name of all the values you have said today, did you or did you not testify to witnessing the President of the United States declassify documents?" Booker asked.
"I testified accordingly, and under oath, and I encourage you to get that transferred by the law of our land," Patel responded.
"And by the law of the land, you are free to tell people, what are you hiding from Congress?" Booker asked. "Answer the question. Did you testify to witnessing the President of the United States declassifying documents, yes or no?"
"Senator, the grand jury testimony is available to you. I encourage you to make it public," Patel said.
The classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Mark Warner expressed concerns over former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, most notably after he refusal to call Edward Snowden a “traitor” during Thursday’s confirmation hearing.
Kelly told reporters after Gabbard’s confirmation hearing Thursday that the nominee declining to say whether she believes Snowden is a “traitor” raised concerns for him.
“It’s pretty easy to say the guy is a traitor,” the Arizona senator said.
During Thursday’s proceedings Gabbard was asked by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., if she would characterize Snowden as a traitor.
"Senator, my heart is with my commitment to our Constitution and our nation's security," Gabbard responded, adding that she is committed to "making sure that there is no future Snowden-type leak."
Warner also expressed similar concerns about Gabbard’s answer on Snowden.
“She couldn’t call Edward Snowden a traitor,” he told reporters after the hearing. “She didn’t even refute calling him brave.”
The Senate Budget Committee voted Thursday to advance the nomination of President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought, to the Senate floor by a margin of 11–0, despite strong opposition from Democrats who claim he is unqualified.
Democrats pushed to delay the vote after the office issued a memo on Monday ordering a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate "wokeness" and the "weaponization of government" to improve government efficiency.
Democrats claimed that the move was an attempt to circumvent Congress and withhold congressionally appropriated funds, violating the Impoundment Control Act.
Vought repeatedly told lawmakers during his confirmation hearings that he believes the Impoundment Control Act is unconstitutional.
The White House rescinded the memo on Wednesday, after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that there was “no uncertainty in this building” about the memo and that the pause was only temporary.
Meanwhile, Democrats urged the entire Senate to reject Vought’s nomination on Thursday following the committee vote, cautioning that Vought would attempt to impound funds again if confirmed.
Trump should drop Vought’s nomination altogether, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., or else Vought will “become baggage” for the American people and the administration.
The OMB is responsible for developing and executing the president’s budget, as well as overseeing and coordinating legislative proposals and priorities aligned with the executive branch.
President Donald Trump's pick to be the next director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, received a round of applause following her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Gabbard faced tough questions during her hearing from both Republicans and Democrats about her previous support of Edward Snowden, who she refused to call a traitor during the hearing. Senators from both parties also questioned Gabbard about her past stances on Iran, Syria, and Russia.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., put out a statement after a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the Foreign Relations Committee voted to advanced her nomination to serve in the Trump administration to a full floor vote.
President Donald Trump tapped Stefanik to serve as the ambassador to the United Nations under his administration. Stefanik, who currently serves as a Republican congresswoman from New York, said she was "honored" to receive the support from the Senate on her nomination.
“I am honored for this morning’s bipartisan vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee supporting my nomination as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Stefanik said in a post on X following the vote.
“I will continue to work through the Senate confirmation process to bring President Trump’s America First peace through strength leadership to the UN,” she added.
Ahead of the committee vote on Stefanik's nomination, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said that she would be voting in favor of her nomination because she was "pleased to hear her [Stefanik] talk about her interest in supporting the work of the UN and trying to ensure that it operates better."
A previously identified anti-Trump FBI agent allegedly broke protocol and played a critical role in opening and advancing the bureau’s original investigation related to the 2020 election, tying President Donald Trump to the probe without sufficient predication, whistleblower disclosures obtained by Sen. Chuck Grassley revealed.
The documents prove the genesis of the federal election interference case brought against Trump, known internally at the FBI as "Arctic Frost," began at the hands of FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault, according to Grassley. Fox News Digital exclusively reported in 2024 that Thibault had been fired from the FBI after he violated the Hatch Act in his political posts on social media. Previous whistleblowers claimed that Thibault had shown a "pattern of active public partisanship," which likely affected investigations involving Trump and Hunter Biden.
Sources also indicated that Thibault took the action to open the investigation and involve Trump, despite being unauthorized to open criminal investigations in his role — only special agents have the authority to open criminal investigations.
This is an excerpt from Fox News' Brooke Singman's original report.
President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kash Patel, clapped back at Democratic accusations that he is a partisan and cannot run the FBI fairly during his confirmation hearing, calling them "false" and "grotesque."
Patel's remarks came amid a testy exchange between Patel and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., during which the Democratic senator questioned Patel about wanting to allegedly shut down the FBI headquarters in Washington and reopen it as "a museum of the deep state."
"I deserve an answer to that question," demanded Klobuchar.
"You got anything you want to say Mr. Patel before I go on to Sen. Leahy?" Chairman of the Judiciary hearing Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Patel.
"Simply this: If the best attacks on me are going to be false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations the only thing this body is doing is defeating the credibility of the men and women at the FBI," Patel responded. "Any accusations leveled against me that I would somehow put political bias before the constitution are grotesquely unfair."
Patel later told Sen. Chirs Coons, D-Del., during the hearing that his statements about shutting down the FBI's headquarters in Washington were intended to help the FBI workforce get boots on the ground outside of the nation's capital where much of their jobs take place.
Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii continued her opening line of questioning about sexual misconduct to Trump's FBI nominee Kash Patel. She posed such questions to Pete Hegseth, nominated for Secretary of Defense and confirmed last week, and Pam Bondi, nominated for Attorney General..
"Mr. Patel, as part of my responsibility as a member of this committee, asked the following two initial questions of all nominees before any of my committees. Since you became a legal don't have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?"
"No, Senator, I have not," Patel responded.
"Have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement relating to this kind of conduct?" Hirono asked.
"No, Senator, I have not."
Hironi said on X last week that she's asked every nominee before committees she's sat on these questions since 2018
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Co., got heated during Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation hearing to be the next director of national intelligence over Gabbard's veiled responses to questions on whether she thought Edward Snowden was a "traitor."
"Senator, if confirmed as director of national intelligence I will work with you to make sure there is not another Snowden-like leak," Gabbard told Bennett.
However, the response did not satisfy Bennett.
"This is when the rubber meets the road," Bennet argued to Gabbard. "You need to answer the questions of the people whose votes you're asking for to be confirmed as the chief intelligence officer of this nation. As my colleague said this is not about you, it's about the people who serve the intelligence agencies of the United States. Is Edward Snowden a traitor to the United States of America? That is not a hard question to answer when the stakes are this high!" Bennett told Gabbard. "
Trump FBI director nominee Kash Patel was grilled Thursday over the FBI’s investigation into alleged Trump-Russia connections in the aftermath of the 2016 election, known colloquially by its nickname "Crossfire Hurricane," and which has emerged as something of a partisan lightning rod in the years since the investigation was closed.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, for his part, used most of his allotted time Thursday to grill Patel over his views on the investigation, which he has railed against as politically motivated and a "disgusting" use of FBI resources
Patel was tapped in 2017 by then-House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes to join the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe— an investigation that was widely praised by Republicans as helping discredit the FBI's inquest.
"Is it fair to say that the people in charge of investigating Crossfire Hurricane hated Trump's guts?" Graham asked Patel Thursday during his confirmation hearing.
"Yes, sir," Patel responded.
Excerpted story by Breanne Deppisch.
Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll questioned whether Army helicopters should be flying training missions in one of the nation’s most congested flight paths after Wednesday's tragic Washington, D.C.-area collision.
"It’s an accident that seems to be preventable," Driscoll, an Army veteran , said during a Thursday confirmation hearing at the Armed Services Committee."There are appropriate times to take risk and inappropriate times to take risk," he said.
"I think we need to look at where is an appropriate time to take training risk, and it may not be at an airport like Reagan."
Sixty-four people were aboard the American Airlines flight inbound from Wichita, Kan., which collided with an Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter just before it was set to touch down at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Authorities do not believe anyone survived.
Excerpted story by Morgan Phillips.
Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse lambasted FBI director nominee Kash Patel during his confirmation hearing on Thursday.
Whitehouse cited several Republican figures who have opposed Patel’s nomination, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton who he said had claimed was “forced to hire him.”
“Former CIA director Gina Haspel was reportedly threatening to resign rather than have this nominee serve under her,” Whitehouse said.
“Former Attorney General Bill Barr said this nominee has virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world's preeminent law enforcement agency, end quote.”
Patel later accused Whitehouse of using “partial quotations” in further criticisms about alleged intentions to “prosecute journalists” and his so-called ‘enemies list’ – a term Patel said he does not endorse.
President Donald Trump's FBI director nominee, Kash Patel, faced a barrage of questions from senators on the Judiciary Committee Thursday morning, as lawmakers pressed him on topics including warrantless surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), QAnon conspiracy theories, and the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
"The only thing that will matter if I'm confirmed as a director of the FBI is a deweaponized, depoliticized system of law enforcement completely devoted to rigorous obedience of the Constitution and a singular standard of justice," Patel said to the committee during the hearing.
Patel added his past statements "were taken out of grotesque context" when Democrat Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., claimed Patel said judges should be impeached "who rule against Donald Trump, who are, in your words, political terrorists."
Democratic Senator from Illinois Dick Durbin pressed Donald Trump's nominee to run the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kash Patel, during his confirmation hearing Thursday, over whether he agreed with Trump's clemency he granted to roughly 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants.
"I have always rejected any violence against law enforcement, and I have -- including in that group specifically addressed any violence against law enforcement on January 6 and I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement," Patel responded.
When asked if he thought America was safer following Trump's actions Patel reiterated his stance without answering the question directly, but added that America was certainly not safer following President Joe Biden's historic number of pardon's, which included murderers and rapists.
"America is not safer because President Biden's commutation of a man who murdered two FBI agents," Patel told Durbin. "Agents' Coler and Williams family deserve better than to have the man that point blank range fired a shotgun into their heads and murdered them released from prison. So it goes both ways."
Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Richard Durbin, D-Ill., warned his panel against confirming FBI director nominee Kash Patel at his confirmation hearing Thursday.
Durbin invoked a Truth Social post by Patel referring to “cowards in uniform exposed” and contended he meant Capitol Police and District of Columbia MPD officers.
He also cited Patel’s comments about any alleged FBI involvement in the Capitol Riot and the nominee’s own involvement in recording music produced by January 6 inmates.
After Durbin’s opening statement concluded, Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, rejected Durbin’s claims and said Patel instead was referencing negligence by top brass at the Pentagon.
President Donald Trump’s FBI director nominee, Kash Patel, strenuously denied any support for the conspiracy group, QAnon, telling the Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley during his confirmation hearing Thursday that he rejects all "baseless conspiracy theories,” including QAnon.
“They must be addressed head on with the truth,” Patel told Grassley. “And I will continue to do that. And I will always continue to support Americans who support law enforcement, our military, and want a secure border. Over the past four years, the FBI and Justice Department have weaponized law enforcement, our military, and want to secure our border."
Lawmakers have cited previous comments from Patel in which he appeared to support QAnon and its founder, "Q," whom he praised for starting "a movement."
"There's a lot of good to a lot of it," he said of the group previously.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., President Donald Trump's pick to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, has advanced to a full floor vote where the Senate will decide on her confirmation.
Stefanik, who served as chair of the House Republican Conference, underwent a confirmation hearing this month, where she touted her grilling of college leaders over their handling of antisemitism on campus following Hamas attacking Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In a vote on Thursday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to advance Stefanik's nomination to a full floor vote.
Stefanik received bipartisan support from members of the committee. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said that she "appreciated" some of Stefanik's responses and would be voting in favor of her nomination.
"I don't agree with all of Representative Stefanik's positions, but I was pleased to hear her talk about her interest in supporting the work of the U.N. and trying to ensure that it operates better," Shaheen said ahead of the committee vote.
However, another Democrat, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, said he would be voting against Stefanik in protest of Trump's recent freeze on federal funding.
A new poll shows that voters are divided on President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, with two notably facing less favorable responses.
The Fox News survey asked respondents whether they would vote to confirm Trump’s choices for key positions. The least popular pick was Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, with more voters opposing his confirmation than supporting it by a 9-point margin (31% yes, 40% no). Hegseth was confirmed last week.
Kash Patel, Trump’s potential nominee for FBI director, also faced resistance, with 4% more voters saying they would not confirm him than those who would (34% yes, 38% no). And 24% responded they'd never heard of Patel, while 4% of respondents responded "Don't know."
The poll was conducted Dec. 6-9, 2024 and surveyed a nationwide sample of 1,015 registered voters with collaboration between Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research.
Patel's hearing is currently underway in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate Judiciary Committee member Thom Tillis, R-N.C., introduced a "K$H BINGO" card at FBI director nominee Kash Patel's confirmation hearing.
Patel was lambasted by Ranking Member Richard Durbin for comments made on Truth Social on January 6, 2021, and in a book in which he created what the Illinois Democrat said was an "enemies list" of current and former bureaucrats like former FBI Director Robert Mueller III.
In response, Tillis produced the BINGO card, saying he had already crossed-off four boxes representing buzzwords or topics he expected Patel's critics to bring up in the hearing.
"I created a K$H BINGO card that I have available for any of my colleagues who may like it on the other side of the aisle," Tillis said, calling it a "serious caricature of what I expect to be witnessed today."
"[It includes terms like] enemies list and deep state."
Tillis suggested he expects to hit a BINGO during the hearing thanks to Democrats who may seek to "substantiate a false narrative" and echo an "unfounded litany of half-quotes and half-truths."
Daniel Driscoll, President Donald Trump's nominee for Army secretary, pledged in his opening remarks before the Armed Services Committee that he would work with Congress to ensure the deadly flight crash is never repeated.
If confirmed I commit to working with this committee to ensure that this never happens again," Driscoll said.
An American Airlines flight just about to touch down at Ronald Reagan National Airport collided with an Army Blackhawk helicopter on Wednesday evening. The Army chopper was on a training mission at the time over the Potomac River. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter and 64 people were aboard the AA flight. Authorities do not believe anyone survived the crash.
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is expected to grill President Donald Trump's director of national intelligence pick, Tulsi Gabbard, according to his opening remarks.
"The President has nominated you to be the next Director of National Intelligence. Many people may not understand the importance of that position: If confirmed, you would lead the 18 agencies of the Intelligence Community," he is expected to say in his opening remarks.
Warner is expected to thank Gabbard for taking the time to meet with him, before detailing his concerns with her nomination.
"I appreciated you taking the time to meet with me in my office and I will note as I did in that meeting, I continue to have significant concerns about your judgment and your qualifications to meet the standard as set by the law. First, as I noted previously, the DNI was created in part to fill an intelligence sharing gap, which the 9/11 Commission identified. That mission – to share intelligence not only between all U.S. departments and agencies, but also with allies – is predicated on trust… trust that we and our allies will protect each other’s secrets. Yet repeatedly, you have excused our adversaries’ worst actions, and instead blamed the United States and our allies for them. "
"For example, you blamed NATO for Russia’ 2022 invasion of Ukraine. You rejected the conclusion that Assad used chemical weapons in Syria, despite it being the unanimous assessment of the Trump Administration DOD, State Department, and IC, as well as the assessment of our European allies. Instead, you blamed the United States for supporting al Qa’ida, ISIS, and other terrorist groups in Syria."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, praised Trump FBI nominee Kash Patel Thursday, saying in his opening remarks that Patel is well-positioned to head up the bureau and help restore public trust
"Public trust in the FBI is low," Grassley said in his opening remarks. "Only 41% of the American public thinks the FBI is doing a good job. This is the lowest rating in a century."
Grassley touted Patel's experience as a public defender and at the Justice Department, as well as his involvement in the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 2017 to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe.
Patel has "managed large intelligence and defense bureaucracies, identified and countered national security threats, prosecuted and defended criminals," Grassley said. "He has done this while fighting for transparency and accountability in the government," giving him "precisely the qualifications we need at this time" to head up the bureau.
Patel's nomination has sparked early criticism from some Democrats ahead of his confirmation hearing, who have cited his previous vows to prosecute journalists and career officials at the Justice Department and FBI that he sees as being part of the "deep state."
A nationwide group of former Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents sent a letter to Senate leadership in support of President Donald Trump's FBI Director nominee Kash Patel making the case that the bureau is "broken" and in desperate need of a new direction.
The letter was sent to Republican Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Dick Durbin and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The letter explained that as both a public defender and prosecutor, Patel has "operated on both sides of the justice system," which gives him a "unique perspective" to understand the need to both enforce the law and respect the rights of the accused.
Patel spokesperson Erica Knight told Fox News Digital that the endorsement "underscores what so many Americans already know" that Patel "is the principled leader we need to restore trust in the FBI."
This is an excerpt from Andrew Mark Miller's original report.
While D.C. is reeling from Wednesday night's tragic collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines jet, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the high-profile Senate confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump's nominee to head up the FBI, Kash Patel, should still move forward on time.
"There hasn't been any changes as far as I'm concerned, and of course if the leadership of the United States Senate, thinks our hearing shouldn't go on, obviously it won't," Grassley said. "But as chairman, I think it should move forward because it's very important that we get a new person for the FBI."
Grassley added "Patel has a record of fighting crime. He's a law enforcement person. He's the right change agent for the FBI."
The Senate is expected to begin Patel's hearing on Thursday morning at 9:30 A.M. ET.
A senior Intel Committee aide confirmed to Fox News Digital that President Donald Trump's pick to be director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, does not currently have a majority of its members' votes, which are necessary to move to the full Senate.
Half of the Republicans on the coveted committee, which must vote to advance Gabbard to a full Senate floor vote for confirmation, are not sold on Trump's DNI pick, the source indicated.
The senior committee aide shared that the reasons for GOP uncertainty include Gabbard's previous Section 702 stance, her past meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her past defense of Edward Snowden.
So far, no Trump nominees have failed to advance out of their respective committees.
Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this excerpted report.
Senate Democrats have obtained a whistleblower report claiming that President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, violated protocol during a hostage rescue mission in October 2020.
But national security officials who served in the first Trump administration pushed back on that narrative.
The whistleblower letter, obtained by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., claimed that Patel leaked news that two Americans and the remains of a third were being transferred to U.S. custody from Yemen, where they had been held hostage by Houthi rebels. The whistleblower claims Patel leaked news of the trade to the Wall Street Journal hours before the hostages were actually in U.S. custody, potentially endangering the deal.
The protocol of the multi-agency group in charge of the mission was to withhold information about hostage deals until the subjects were both in U.S. custody and their families had been notified, according to the whistleblower.
A transition official pushed back on the report in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, saying Patel has a "track record of success."
"Mr. Patel was a public defender, decorated prosecutor, and accomplished national security official that kept Americans safe," the official said. "He has a track record of success in every branch of government, from the court room to congressional hearing room to the situation room. There is no veracity to this anonymous source's complaints about protocol."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., had a tense interaction on Sunday during a live interview with Margaret Brennan on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Graham told Brennan he was "ready" to vote to confirm Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for FBI director, and believes Patel's confirmation hearing "will expose him to be a very qualified man of the law."
"Kash was a public defender, he was a prosecutor, he worked with Trey Gowdy about the Russia hoax," Graham said. "So I do think he has the experience. He has the trust of the president."
"I'm ready to vote for him because I know him too. See [you] never asked about the Russia hoax that he exposed," Graham continued. "People on the right believe that he was part of the solution, not the problem."
Excerpted from earlier reporting by Fox News Digital's Pilar Arias.
Hundreds of veterans across the nation are offering their unequivocal support to former Democrat Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence under President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration, Fox News Digital has learned.
"President Donald Trump’s selection of Tulsi Gabbard reflects a profound recognition of her steadfast dedication to our nation and her unwavering commitment to safeguarding the American people. While most Americans know Tulsi as a fearless and principled Congresswoman who stood up to entrenched political systems, we know her as a fellow veteran—one whose worldview was forged through the crucible of serving in combat zones and a lifelong devotion to service," reads a letter, "American Veterans for Tulsi Gabbard," which was published Monday and obtained by Fox News Digital.
More than 250 veterans signed the letter, including high-profile and nationally known names such as retired Gen. Michael Flynn, former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, Arizona Rep. Rep. Eli Crane, Florida Rep. Brian Mast and political commentator Jack Posobiec.
"Because of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, Tulsi answered the call of duty, enlisted in the Army, and stepped away from her position as a Hawaii State Representative when she volunteered to deploy to Iraq with her unit. Instead of using her political status to avoid deployment, Tulsi volunteered to serve in a medical unit in Iraq, directly facing the harsh realities, costs, and traumas of war," the letter continues.
"Her commitment to service did not end there," it added, before pointing to Gabbard’s 22 years of standing "shoulder-to-shoulder with her fellow servicemembers," including when she served in the House.
"As a Member of Congress and as a civilian, Tulsi has been a stalwart advocate for veterans' health concerning toxic exposures and cancer care as a result of our fellow veterans' military service. Tulsi’s life exemplifies a rare blend of selflessness, courage, and leadership—qualities desperately needed to reform and strengthen our intelligence community," the letter says.
Nearly 70% of the veterans who signed the letter worked in special operations and/or intelligence, while about 54% of the signatories are retired service members, and the vast majority of signers overall saw combat while in the military, Fox News Digital learned.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), emphasized that he is not "anti-vaccine" at his hearing Wednesday in Congress.
"I want to make sure the Committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. Well, I am neither; I am pro-safety," Kennedy said in his opening statement in front of the Senate Finance Committee.
The statement was shared first with Fox News ahead of the appearance by Kennedy, who, if confirmed, would have control over 18 powerful federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
And Kennedy emphasized he's not "the enemy of food producers. American farms are the bedrock of our culture and national security … I want to work with our farmers and food producers to remove burdensome regulations and unleash American ingenuity."
Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., joined "Fox & Friends" to provide updates on the American Airlines plane collision near D.C. and to discuss the critical role of President Trump's swift confirmations on Thursday.
Cotton argued that Trump's nominees need to be quickly placed in their roles across the federal government so that the U.S. can effectively respond to emergencies like the D.C. plane crash.
"We need to move ahead with these hearings," Cotton said. "This shows why these hearings and votes are important. We need officials at the heads of these departments. It's important we move forward promptly for accountability and so we have officials leading this vital work."
Trump's transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, had only just assumed his position earlier this week ahead of Wednesday night's disaster.
Three more of Trump's nominees are scheduled to have hearings on Thursday, including director of national intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard, FBI nominee Kash Patel, and health and human services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
As Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday for the confirmation hearing for Health and Human Services Secretary, some may have noticed that his voice has a raspy, strained sound.
The prospective HHS head has spoken about his voice over the years, sharing that he was diagnosed long ago with a disorder called spasmodic dysphonia.
"I had a very, very strong voice until I was 46 years old," Kennedy said during an interview with NewsNation in 2023. "It was unusually strong. It makes my voice tremble. At the time, I didn’t know what was wrong with it. But when I would go on TV, people would write me letters and say, ‘You have spasmodic dysphonia.’"
Excerpted from earlier reporting by Fox News Digital's Melissa Rudy.
President Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, has called on leaders to weaken powerful career bureaucrats in Washington for years, referring to them as part of the "deep state" and politically motivated federal investigators, in particular, as "gangsters."
If confirmed, he could be the one spearheading those reforms.
Nicole Parker, a former FBI special agent who spent more than 12 years with the bureau, has a few ideas on where to start.
"There was a palpable disconnect between the line agents and leadership in Washington, D.C.," she told Fox News Digital. "These observations inform my belief that the FBI is currently suffering from a distinct lack of leadership and that the future of the FBI will be directly tied to how the next director solves the agency’s problems."
Patel outlined some of his critiques of alleged corruption within "the permanent government bureaucracy" in a 2023 book, "Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy."
Parker, who said she does not know Patel personally, told Fox News Digital that the next director will be tasked with restoring the FBI's "credibility" in the public eye after years of accusations that some investigations have been politically motivated to target conservatives, including Trump himself.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Michael Ruiz
Carl and Marsha Mueller, the parents of ISIS murder victim Kayla Mueller, offered their full endorsement of Kash Patel for FBI director, after years of building a personal relationship with the Trump administration nominee.
"He loves his country. He loves the people of this country," Marsha Mueller told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview via Zoom on Monday morning. "To us, you know, he is a person that we would go to for help. And he is so action oriented."
"Just like Trump," Carl Mueller added to his wife's comments on Patel's action-motivated personality.
The Muellers wrote a letter this week to Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., of the Senate Judiciary Committee, offering their full endorsement of Patel to serve as director of the FBI under the second Trump administration.
Their daughter Kayla was abducted by terrorists while leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013, when she was assisting with humanitarian efforts amid the country's bloody civil war. She was held hostage for 18 months, when she was believed to be repeatedly tortured and raped by ISIS militants, including then-ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
She was killed in 2015 — with her parents speaking to Fox Digital just days ahead of the 10-year anniversary of her death, on Feb. 6.
Patel served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration, which put him in the Mueller's orbit when he assisted in overseeing the military operation to eliminate ISIS chief al-Baghdadi in 2019.
"We would like to add our voices to those in support of Kash Patel’s nomination to be the director of the FBI," the Mueller's letter to Senate lawmakers and obtained by Fox News Digital reads. "Any family who has lived through such an experience will know the value of dedicated, compassionate law enforcement officials."
"Because we have watched him at his work over time, and because we have personal experience of his dedication, we know that Kash Patel is such a person," the letter continues. "We continue to see in him a genuinely kind, thoughtful, action-oriented man who focuses on what is true and right and just. He loves our country and our citizens and wants the best for us all. He wants our country to be the best it can be."
Tulsi Gabbard doesn't currently have enough votes to advance out of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Fox News Digital has learned.
The former Democrat representative's nomination to be director of national intelligence (DNI) under President Donald Trump is in danger as she lacks enough Republican support on the committee, sources confirmed.
Before heading to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote, Trump's picks all have hearings and their nominations are voted on at the committee level. Gabbard's confirmation hearing will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday.
So far, no Trump nominees have failed to advance out of their respective committees.
A senior Intel Committee aide confirmed to Fox News Digital that Gabbard does not currently have a majority of its members' votes, which are necessary to move to the full Senate.
According to the source, half of the Republicans on the coveted committee are not sold on Trump's DNI pick.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Julia Johnson
Dozens of top former intelligence officials are urging members of the Senate to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, saying she will "begin undoing the gross politicization that has come to characterize intelligence bureaucracies," Fox News Digital has learned.
Former White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, former Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, Navy SEAL veteran and member of the intelligence community Erik Prince and more than four dozen other former intelligence officials penned a letter to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., on Monday, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.
"We, the undersigned former intelligence and national security officials, urge members of the United States Senate to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to serve as President Trump’s Director of National Intelligence," they wrote. "Her service as DNI will begin undoing the gross politicization that has come to characterize intelligence bureaucracies, which has been to the great detriment of the freedom and security of the United States and its citizens."
The officials said Gabbard’s experience "more than qualifies her for this important position."
Gabbard is a military officer with more than 20 years of service and multiple combat deployments. She also served in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years and served on numerous national security committees.
The officials said Gabbard was "an outspoken champion for America’s warriors and for our cherished constitutional freedoms."
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