The Senate voted to confirm Kash Patel as FBI Director on Thursday after a contentious confirmation hearing and an onslaught of Democratic fearmongering about his nomination.
Patel was confirmed with a 51 to 49 vote, with all Democrats voting against him. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME) also voted "no" on the new FBI Director's confirmation.
Patel, who served for a decade as a federal prosecutor at the Justice Department, was nominated as a part of President Donald Trump’s effort to clean up corruption in the Bureau and prevent it from being weaponized against Americans for their political beliefs.
During his confirmation hearing, Patel stated, "Protecting the rights of the Constitution is of the utmost importance to me and has been every single time I’ve taken that oath of office.”
He further stated that he “will remain focused on the FBI’s core mission, that is to investigate fully wherever there is a constitutional factual basis to do so.”
Democrats, who are clearly terrified by the prospect of Patel occupying this position, launched a full-on campaign to discredit him after he was nominated. They constantly brought up his challenging the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and even tried to link him to the QAnon conspiracy theory cult.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) even went so far as to exploit those who died in a terrorist attack in New Orleans to attack Patel, saying it “underscores again, the importance of having someone directing the FBI that has experience, that has judgment, that has character that will prioritize defending the country against the violence we saw in New Orleans or the violence we saw on January 6, not someone whose top priority is political vendettas, who believes in deep state conspiracy thinking, not someone who is as unqualified as Kash Patel.”
Democrats and their close friends and allies in the legacy media constantly claimed Patel would use his position to mete out revenge on President Trump’s enemies.
During Patel’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) brought a bit of levity when he whipped out his “Kash Bingo Card” predicting the lines of attack Democratic senators would use against the nominee.
Tillis might have hit bingo many times over as Democrats predictably fixated on the January 6, 2021 riot at the United States Capitol building, his statements on the outcome of the 2020 election, his supposed “enemies list,” and his insistence on rooting out political bias in the FBI.
Republican senators like Lindsey Graham (R-SC) highlighted Patel’s role in exposing the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, which was essentially an effort to use the FBI to falsely accuse President Trump of working with the Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
Sen. Sidney Blumenthal (D-IL) beclowned himself by trying to corner Patel with a “test” to ascertain whether Patel would fire FBI agents based on their politics. It did not go well for the senator when Patel affirmed that he would not take such an action based on political affiliation.
With trust in the FBI declining among Americans, Patel will have his work cut out for him as he takes this position.