President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Kash Patel to lead the FBI has ignited a confirmation battle that likely will be as much a fight over the future of America’s premier national law enforcement agency as over the candidate’s qualifications.
Many Republicans have lined up behind Mr. Patel, who has said he wants to “dismantle” the deep state within the FBI. Democrats say he is too much of a Trump loyalist and unqualified for the position.
Mr. Patel will first face members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, will become chairman when Republicans take control of the upper chamber in January.
Mr. Grassley has been at odds with the FBI for years.
He has investigated reports of FBI abuse of power, retaliation against whistleblowers, election interference, manipulation of crime statistics, sexual misconduct, bureau discrimination based on political and religious beliefs, intentional withholding or slow-walking of requested documents, and intimidation of private citizens who attended school board meetings.
On Sunday, one day after Mr. Trump tapped Mr. Patel, Mr. Grassley posted on X that Christopher A. Wray had “failed at fundamental duties of FBI” director.
The Iowa Republican said Mr. Wray has shown “disdain” for congressional “oversight and hasn’t lived up to his promises.”
“It’s time to chart a new course for transparency and accountability at the FBI. Kash Patel must prove to Congress he will reform and restore public trust in the FBI,” Mr. Grassley said.
Democrats didn’t see things that way.
Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat and current Judiciary Committee chairman, said Mr. Wray’s term does not expire until 2027.
“President-elect Trump knows this, because he nominated Director Wray in 2017 after he fired the previous Director, James Comey, another lifelong Republican who failed Trump’s loyalty test,” Mr. Durbin said in a statement.
“President Biden kept Director Wray in office because the FBI is supposed to be insulated from partisanship. Now, the President-elect wants to replace his own appointee with an unqualified loyalist,” he said.
SEE ALSO: Rep. Jamie Raskin says Trump picked Kash Patel to have ‘loyalist’ at helm of FBI
The Washington Times asked the FBI whether Mr. Wray had plans to leave, and the bureau replied that he was focused on his job.
“Every day, the men and women of the FBI continue to work to protect Americans from a growing array of threats. Director Wray’s focus remains on the men and women of the FBI, the people we do the work with, and the people we do the work for,” the agency said.
Sen. Mike Lee, Utah Republican and Judiciary Committee member, noted Mr. Patel’s experience as a terrorism prosecutor in the Justice Department.
“Kash Patel has prosecuted more cases than Kamala Harris. Write that down,” he said on X.
Mr. Wray has led the bureau through the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and almost four years of FBI investigations and arrests of those who participated.
Congressional Republicans have scrutinized Mr. Wray for the FBI’s lack of transparency in investigations related to the riot, its memo to probe the Catholic Church, the raid on Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida, and the pursuit of pro-life activists demonstrating at abortion clinics.
Sen. Rick Scott, Florida Republican, said on X that the FBI has “lost the trust of the American people. The FBI needs to be shaken up & driven back to its mission.”
Mr. Scott said, “We must end the political witch-hunts, protect Americans & make sure President Trump can Make America Great Again! Kash will do just that.”
Democrats see that pledge as politicizing the department.
Mr. Durbin urged the Senate to “reject this unprecedented effort to weaponize the FBI for the campaign of retribution that Donald Trump has promised.”
Sen. Alex Padilla, California Democrat, said on CBS’s “Face The Nation” that lawmakers will question Mr. Patel about his independence.
“The Department of Justice calls to be independent of the president of the United States. Or is he going to do Trump’s bidding? That’s the big question here,” Mr. Padilla said.
“Is it a genuine, legitimate appointment? Or a political appointment to politicize the Bureau and the Department in Trump’s favor? That’s just the beginning of the questions that we expect to raise in the confirmation hearings.”
If Mr. Patel’s nomination passes out of committee, his nomination will go to the full Senate for a vote.
Mr. Patel held several jobs in Mr. Trump’s first administration, including chief of staff at the Defense Department, deputy director of national intelligence and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council.
“Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Mr. Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing his nomination.
The FBI and Mr. Trump have a tense history. In July 2016, under Director James B. Comey, the bureau launched Crossfire Hurricane, investigating the Trump campaign’s purported links to Russia.
Mr. Trump’s firing of Mr. Comey in 2017 raised suspicions in the Justice Department that the president was obstructing justice, leading to special counsel Robert Mueller’s long-running and costly investigation.
Mr. Mueller ultimately found no evidence that Trump campaign officials conspired with or were connected to Moscow.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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