Embattled FBI Director Kash Patel defended his leadership of the nation’s top law enforcement agency in opening remarks Tuesday morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“I’m honored to be the ninth director of the FBI — I’m not going anywhere,” he told lawmakers. “If you want to criticize my 16 years of service, please bring it on.”
It could set the tone for the Judiciary panel’s annual oversight hearing of the FBI, which comes amid increased scrutiny of Patel in the aftermath of last week’s assassination of conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk.
In the wake of the killing, Patel posted on social media that the government had a suspect in custody — only to post shortly thereafter that the suspect, who was not the killer, had been released. Patel defended the bureau’s handling of the investigation in his opening statement, while Sen. Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley opened the proceedings by noting the FBI director would have to answer for the department’s handling of the situation.
Patel, in his remarks, also criticized the Justice Department’s handling of the sex crimes case against Jeffrey Epstein in the George W. Bush administration, including calling out former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, who oversaw Epstein’s controversial plea deal. Acosta later served as Labor secretary in the first Trump administration but resigned in the midst of criticism of his handling of the Epstein deal. He is scheduled to be interviewed by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday as part of its Epstein probe.
In his own opening statement, Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee’s top Democrat, previewed what questions could look like from his side of the aisle: He took aim at the recent firings at the FBI, Patel’s background as a Trump loyalist and the current administration’s approach to the Epstein case.
Anticipating that the recent surge in political violence will be a theme at the Tuesday hearing, Durbin also argued that both sides bore a responsibility for turning down the temperature in partisan rhetoric: Democrats were not to blame for Kirk’s assassination, he said, nor were Republicans responsible for the murder of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman back in June.
Senators will each be allotted 10 minutes to question Patel, who is appearing before lawmakers on Capitol Hill for the first time since his confirmation. He’ll testify Wednesday in front of the House Judiciary Committee for its own FBI oversight hearing.