By Sadie Gurman
WASHINGTON—The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Kash Patel as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a marquee victory in President Trump’s effort to strike back at an agency he has long considered his nemesis.
Every Senate Democrat voted against Patel. They were joined by two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who said they believed Patel was too overtly political to lead the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
“Mr. Patel’s recent political profile undermines his ability to serve in the apolitical role of Director of the FBI,” Collins said ahead of the 51-49 vote.
Patel’s confirmation marks a tectonic shift at the bureau, as he plans to adjust its focus from terrorism and counterintelligence work back toward its historical mission of fighting violent crime. His priorities, partisan approach and open criticism of the agency he will lead set him apart from most every other director in the bureau’s history.
His rise to the director role means that a president who has demanded fealty will finally have a trusted ally atop the FBI, after years of clashing with the agency over federal investigations into his conduct. The two men bonded over their shared view that the FBI must be purged of what they perceive as bias against Trump and other conservatives. Now they can embark on the overhaul of the bureau they have long imagined.
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