IT was a clash that had Capitol Hill buzzing – a fiery Senate showdown where FBI Director Kash Patel locked horns with Democrats and declared he was here to stay.
The tense back-and-forth played out Tuesday during Patel’s first appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee since taking over the bureau.
FBI Director Kash Patel clashed with Senate Democrats in a fiery hearing (stock)[/caption]
Senator Cory Booker slammed Patel and said that his days in officer were numbered[/caption]
In Washington, the hearing quickly spiraled into a spectacle as Patel faced barrage of questions over his handling of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Senator Cory Booker went on to attack, predicting Patel’s days in office were numbered.
“Here’s the thing, Mr. Patel, I think you’re not gonna be around long, I think this might be your last oversight hearing,” Booker said.
“Because as much as you supplicate yourself to the will of Donald Trump and not the Constitution, Donald Trump has shown us he is not loyal to people like you.”
Patel snapped back without hesitation.
“I am not going anywhere,” he fired back.
“If you want to criticize my 16 years of service, please bring it on.”
The dramatic exhange came as Patel already faced heat for publicly misfiring on social media about the Kirk investigation.
Patel initially announced on X that the bureau had caught the shooter, only to later retract the claim.
Senator Dick Durbin, the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, slammed Patel for rushing to claim credit.
“Mr. Patel was so anxious to take credit for finding Mr. Kirk’s assassin, that he violated one of the basics of effective law enforcement: at critical stages of an investigation shut up and let the investigators do their job,” Durbin blasted.
Authorities eventually arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson in Orem, Utah, after a tense manhunt lasting more than 24 hours.
Patel traveled to Utah alongside Governor Spencer Cox to announce the capture, but he was criticized for dining at Manhattan’s exclusive Rao’s restaurant the night of the shooting instead of heading straight to the scene.
President Donald Trump, pressed by reporters, deflected – first praising ally Pam Bondi before nodding to Patel’s role in Robinson’s arrest.
Who is Kash Patel?
- Current role: FBI Director, confirmed under President Donald Trump.
- Background: Former federal prosecutor and national security official with more than 16 years in government service.
- Past positions: Served in the Trump administration as a senior National Security Council official and later as chief of staff to the Acting Secretary of Defense.
- Books: Author of Government Gangsters, where he detailed alleged corruption inside the intelligence community.
Controversies:
- Facing criticism over his handling of the Charlie Kirk assassination investigation.
- Slammed for prematurely announcing an arrest on X before walking it back.
- Under fire for the FBI’s July memo on Jeffrey Epstein, which claimed there was no “client list.”
- Accused of politically motivated firings of FBI officials.
Trump ties: A loyalist to Donald Trump, with his appointment viewed as a major shake-up of the bureau.
“Well first of all I think Pam Bondi has done an unbelievable job,” Trump said.
“And Kash, take a look at what he did with this horrible person that he just captured.”
But the firestorm didn’t stop with the Kirk case.
Patel also came under pressure over the bureau’s controversial July memo declaring that Jeffrey Epstein had no “client list” and died by suicide.
The unsigned document sparked outrage from lawmakers across the aisle and fueled fresh conspiracy theories.
Durbin pressed Patel on why the paper carried no signature.
“The memorandum had the insignia of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Patel said.
“And in our effort to secure transparency for the American people, because the three prior administrations had not done so, we conducted an exhaustive search… and we produced what was legally and permissibly able to be produced.”
Durbin also asked Patel about specific firings reported in the The New York Time, but Patel dismissed the account as “one-sided.”
“Anyone that has been terminated by the FBI generally speaking failed to meet the needs of the FBI and uphold their constitutional duties,” Patel said.
