Everything You Need to Know About Kash Patel, Trump’s Choice for FBI Leadership
Patel has long been a vocal critic of the federal agency he is now set to lead.
On November 30, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Kash Patel as the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
The current director is Chris Wray, who assumed the role following Trump’s dismissal of James Comey. For Patel to take leadership, Wray would need to resign or be removed by the incoming president.
Patel has been a longstanding ally of Trump and has been vocal in his criticisms of the FBI, the agency he is now positioned to lead. He has also committed to implementing significant changes.
Here’s what you should know about Patel.
Legal Background
Patel earned his degree in criminal justice and history from the University of Richmond in 2002 and obtained his Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law in 2005.
After law school, Patel served as a public defender in Florida for eight years, initially in Miami-Dade County, before transitioning into the federal system, where he represented numerous clients facing felony charges.
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Patel subsequently took on roles as a trial attorney within the National Security Division of the Department of Justice and as a legal liaison to the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).
Opposition to Russia Collusion Narrative
In April 2017, Patel began serving as a senior aide for then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes.
Nunes, later the CEO of the Trump Media & Technology Group, was a prominent defender of Trump and exploited the committee’s influence to counter rising claims alleging collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia during 2016.
In this senior position, Patel closely supported Nunes in his efforts to rebut those accusations.
A memo released during Patel’s time, known as the “Nunes memo,” criticized how the FBI handled the warrant application which permitted surveillance of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign aide, in 2016.
While some reports attributed the memo’s authorship to Patel, he has never claimed credit for it.
Ultimately, an investigation by Special Counsel John Durham validated the skeptics’ claims, concluding that law enforcement agents were motivated by “confirmation bias” during the probe.
At a CPAC event, Patel declared the Russia collusion claims as “the greatest conspiracy ever perpetrated against the American people.”
National Security Background
Patel also possesses a comprehensive background in national security.
As a legal liaison for JSOC and an aide to Nunes, he would have acquired high-level security clearance due to the confidential nature of information handled in both roles.
In February 2019, Patel joined the National Security Council, first working in the International Organizations and Alliances Directorate. By July 2019, he had advanced to Senior Director of the Counterterrorism Directorate, a new position at that time.
In February 2020, Patel transitioned to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), serving as a principal deputy to the then acting-ODNI chief Rick Grenell.
During the last three months of Trump’s first term, Patel also acted as chief of staff at the Department of Defense.
Bestselling Author
Patel is a bestselling author, having released a series of books.
This includes a three-part series of children’s books titled “The Plot Against the King,” which transforms the events of Trump’s presidency and its aftermath into a children’s fantasy narrative.
His first publication for an adult audience, “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy,” was released on August 1, 2024. It currently ranks as the No. 1 bestseller in the constitutional law category on Amazon and is recognized as a Wall Street Journal bestseller.
In this book, Patel targets what he refers to as the deep state—a secretive network of unelected federal bureaucrats and law enforcement officials influencing the government’s daily operations—and suggests methods to counteract them.
The book garnered endorsement from Trump, who described it as a “brilliant roadmap highlighting every corrupt actor, to ultimately return our agencies and departments to serve the American People.”
Additionally, Patel hosted the show “Kash’s Corner” on EpochTV.
Big Plans for the FBI
Given his historical criticisms of the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ), it’s hardly surprising that Patel has ambitious plans for the agency he is about to lead.
In this role, he would collaborate closely with Pam Bondi, Trump’s nominee for attorney general.
Patel has expressed his intention to implement substantial reforms regarding the FBI’s operations, particularly to address what he and Trump perceive as the agency’s weaponization over the last four years.
Moreover, Patel has shown interest in significantly reducing the size of the agency to cut down on taxpayer expenditures.
In a recent interview, Patel voiced concerns over what he termed “personnel creep in the government,” referring to the significant growth in FBI and DOJ personnel based in Washington.
“I would shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day one and reopen it the next day as a museum of the deep state. Then I would redistribute the 7,000 employees working in that building across America to pursue criminals.”
If the Senate confirms him, Patel would gain access to information regarding the FBI’s activities over the past four years, potentially serving as a foundation for comprehensive reforms to the agency.
