WASHINGTON: The US Senate has confirmed Cash Patel as FBI Director. 51 senators voted for him — usually, candidates for this position receive more than 90 votes
51 senators voted for Patel’s appointment, while 49 voted against. The Washington Post notes that this is an extremely low result: usually, the nominee for the post of director of the bureau receives the support of both Democrats and Republicans. Thus, each of the three previous FBI directors received the votes of at least 92 senators.
Mr. Patel previously headed the Pentagon staff and was also the senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council. He promised to fight against what he considered dishonest journalists and also spoke of a desire to open a museum of the "deep state" on the site of the FBI headquarters. He is one of the most ardent supporters of President Donald Trump. He described Cash Patel as a patriot, "a defender of truth, accountability and the Constitution."
Patel is a former federal defender and Justice Department counterterrorism prosecutor. He attracted Trump’s attention during the president’s first term when, as a staffer on the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee, Patel helped write a memo with pointed criticism of the FBI’s investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Patel later joined Trump’s administration, both as a counterterrorism official at the National Security Council and as chief of staff to the defense secretary.
Patel, 44, is the son of immigrants from India. In the first administration of Donald Trump, he was an adviser to the director of national intelligence and chief of staff to the head of the Pentagon.
Patel will replace Christopher Wray, who has held this position since 2017.
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