Kash Patel has only been head of the FBI for nine months, but his tenure has already been a turbulent one, according to a new report.
As director of one of the nation’s largest law enforcement agencies, Patel has come under intense scrutiny for using a government jet on multiple personal trips, including to a luxury resort in Texas and to his girlfriend’s home in Tennessee,The Wall Street Journal reported.
The 45-year-old director has also launched a wave of firings within the agency and been quick to publicize investigations, potentially tipping off suspects.
These controversies have drawn the ire of Patel’s colleagues at the FBI and officials at the Department of Justice, along with President Donald Trump’s White House, the Journal noted.
Since Patel took the helm at the agency, the FBI director’s plane made nine trips to Las Vegas and seven trips to Nashville, according to the Journal’s analysis of flight records. Patel lived in Las Vegas before taking the government role, and his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, lives in Nashville. While Patel is required to use the jet for travel, he is supposed to reimburse the government for personal use. Some have raised flags about his use of the plane and the number of trips.
An FBI spokesperson told the Journal that Patel had only taken a handful of personal trips, and that under his leadership, the bureau has successfully cracked down on crime.
“Thankfully, Americans can see through WSJ hot garbage — this FBI has never been stronger,” Patel told the Journal in a statement.
The Independent has contacted the FBI and the White House for comment.
In late January, Patel used the jet to attend a wrestling event in Pennsylvania, where Wilkins sang the National Anthem. A day later, the plane then flew to Nashville. Patel’s cross-country outings took place while FBI employees, along with hundreds of thousands of other federal employees, have gone without pay during the government shutdown.Later, the same FBI jet flew to San Angelo, Texas.
There, Patel visited the Boondoggle Ranch, a luxury hunting resort owned by the family of C.R. “Bubba” Saulsbury Jr., a GOP donor and friend of Patel’s. A website for the ranch was taken down after the Journal reached out.
The travel has irritated the White House, which instructed cabinet officials to limit their trips — especially those not connected to Trump’s agenda, an administration official told the outlet. The president himself has at times expressed frustration with Patel, though he remains supportive of the director, sources told the Journal.
Defending his travel, Patel has derided critics as “clickbait haters.”
But, before leading the FBI, he attacked his predecessor, former Director Christopher Wray, for doing the same thing.
“Chris Wray, hey, you don’t need a government-funded G5 jet so you can fly off to the Adirondacks for vacation,” Patel said during a 2023 podcast appearance.
Patel has also attracted negative attention by firing at least 30 agents who appeared to lack the necessary conservative bona fides.
“Some took a knee in a show of solidarity with the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests; another implemented government policy denying religious exemptions for the covid vaccine; a third displayed a gay pride flag,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
On October 31, Patel fired Steven Palmer, who led the agency’s Critical Incident Response Group — a unit that oversees the FBI’s use of government planes.
“Palmer and other officials had tried to explain to Patel’s staff that the more he used the plane for personal travel, the less it could be used for other bureau operations, according to people familiar with the matter,” the outlet reported. An FBI spokesperson said Palmer’s removal was unrelated to “the plane issue.”
These apparent purges have also rippled across the Department of Justice more broadly, with prosecutors deemed to be “anti-Trump” among those pushed out, The Independent previously reported.
Patel, who has eschewed the traditional suit-and-tie dress code at the FBI in favor of more casual clothes, has also faced criticism for his communication style.
Some insiders have accused him of jumping the gun on publicizing investigations, creating unnecessary chaos, the Journal noted.
Hours after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September, Patel posted on X that a suspect had been apprehended. However, the real alleged assassin turned himself over to officials the next day.
In another instance, on October 31, Patel wrote on social media that “The FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack,” referring to arrests made in Michigan. However, at the time, criminal charges had not been filed, and local law enforcement was left in the dark. In response, prosecutors hurried to file a complaint, which alleged that young men had amassed guns and ammunition in preparation for an “ISIS-inspired attack.”
Days later in their filing, prosecutors alleged in a 93-page complaint that a group of young men had allegedly stockpiled guns and ammunition for a possible ISIS-inspired attack on gay nightclubs in suburban Detroit.
