Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, was met with intense grilling from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee about his past comments and allegiance to Trump. To Republicans, Patel — a vocal Trump loyalist who has vowed to take aim at the president’s political enemies — represents a chance to reform the FBI, but Democrats argue he is an unqualified figure at risk of abusing power.
“Mr. Patel would have us believe that all of these public servants, all Republicans, all from the first Trump administration, and apparently anyone else who is critical of him, are nothing but government gangsters and ‘deep state’ members, many of them have made his list of enemies,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the top Democrat on the panel. “Our nation needs an FBI director who understands the gravity of this mission and is ready on day one, not someone who is consumed by his own personal political grievances.”
The New York Times: Top FBI officials have been told to retire or be fired in the coming days, fueling fear within an agency that has been a target of Trump and Patel.
