Sen. Cornyn says Kash Patel will be confirmed as FBI chief

Sen. John Cornyn signaled Thursday that he’s confident Kash Patel will be confirmed as head of the FBI.

When asked by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt if Mr. Patel will be confirmed, Mr. Cornyn, Texas Republican, said, “Yes, he will be.”

“People I know and who I trust speak well of him and I’m looking forward to meeting with him,” Mr. Cornyn said, adding that he’s working to schedule a face-to-face.

He said people he has “great respect for” have “highly recommended” Mr. Patel and that the FBI nominee has “vast experience.

Mr. Cornyn said he met with Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s second pick for attorney general, on Wednesday and that she also spoke “highly of [Patel].”

This comes as other Trump Cabinet and administration picks venture to Capitol Hill to talk with senators.

Mr. Patel served in the first Trump administration, as chief of staff at the Defense Department, deputy director of national intelligence and as senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council.

During Mr. Trump’s final months in office, he tried to get Mr. Patel into the role of deputy director of the CIA, but was unsuccessful.

In announcing his choice of Mr. Patel, Mr. Trump called him a “brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People.”

He said Mr. Patel “played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability and the Constitution.”

“This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border,” he wrote in a Truth Social post. “Kash will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI.”

Mr. Patel is a loyalist to Mr. Trump, and has echoed his sentiments on the “deep state,” and is an advocate for getting rid of it along with those in the government and the media who have played a role in it. If he is confirmed, he would replace director Christopher Wray and cut short the 10-year term to which Mr. Trump nominated him in 2017.

Several Senate Republicans have already signaled their support for Mr. Patel, besides Mr. Cornyn.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Alabama Republican and a member of the Armed Services Committee, said earlier this week that he thought Mr. Patel would “be a really good” FBI director. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma wrote on X earlier this week that Mr. Patel is an “outstanding pick to shake up the FBI.”