FBI director Kash Patel faces a series of high-profile hearings in Congress this coming week, following scrutiny from both parties over his handling of the search for the gunman that killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a speaking event at a Utah university.
In the Senate on Tuesday and House on Wednesday, Patel is likely to face a grilling over irregularities in the manhunt for suspect Tyler Robinson, including an initial announcement from Patel that a “subject” had been captured, only for the FBI boss to later backtrack.
The blunder earned Patel criticism not only from Democrats but usual MAGA allies.
“We would be wise to take a moment and ask whether Kash Patel has what it takes to get this done,” right-wing activist Christopher Rufo wrote on X this week. “I’ve been on the phone the last few days with many conservative leaders, all of whom wholeheartedly support the Trump Administration and none of whom are confident that the current structure of the FBI is up to this task.”
Behind the scenes, meanwhile, Patel reportedly engaged in odd behavior like berating his fellow agents for not immediately showing him a photo of the suspect that had been found, even though the image was reportedly already in Patel’s briefing materials, according to The Washington Post.
Morale is low inside the bureau, and Patel is seen as “crumbling under pressure,” sources told the newspaper.
Beyond just questions over the Utah investigation, Patel’s tenure at the FBI has been marked with continued internal upheaval.
The same week Kirk was shot, a group of decorated former FBI agents sued the bureau, alleging they had been fired after resisting various attempts to compile information on or fire agents deemed disloyal to the White House, including those who had been assigned to past probes related to Trump and the January 6 insurrection.
As the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office leapt into action following the assassination, it was led by an agent with less than a month on the job, thanks to continued personnel reshuffles.
The FBI boss is also likely to face questions from both parties over the federal government’s slow-walking release of information related to sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, despite prior Trump administration promises to rapidly disclose the remaining files on the late associate of Donald Trump.
Democrats, meanwhile, are expected to question Patel over ongoing probes into critics of the president, such as the recent raid on former national security adviser John Bolton and investigations into former Obama-era officials like former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI director James Comey.
Despite these anticipated questions, Patel retains the faith of one key ally: Donald Trump.
“I am very proud of the FBI,” Trump told Fox News Digital on Saturday. “Kash — and everyone else — they have done a great job.”
