Despite Democrats Kicking And Screaming, Kash Patel’s Nomination To Direct FBI Advances
Tone deaf and powerless, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee ran out of stall tactics and finally had to submit to a vote Thursday on the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s FBI director nominee, Kash Patel.
“We have a pretty good idea of what the outcome will be today, and I am appalled that my Republican colleagues are prepared to confirm a man so publicly hostile to the agency, its people, its goals, its mission, that he intends to lead,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said.
Yes Dick, we all did. Last week. When Democrats delayed the vote for a week, and again Thursday morning when Democrats forced two more hours of pointless rehashing of last week’s discussion.
The committee voted along party lines, Republicans 12 and Democrats 10, to advance Patel to the Senate floor for full confirmation.
Democrats never had the votes to block Patel, so they spent time smearing his reputation.
Patel is “extremely dangerous” because of “all of his wild MAGA behavior,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., warned.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., called Patel an “inexperienced loyalist.”
“This agency should be above politics,” Durbin said, while making it all about politics. “I will not be surprised when my Republican colleagues again claim that the Democrats have weaponized the FBI.”
Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said the American people are tired of two tiers of justice.
“While my colleagues may be upset for today, I think it’s important to note that they sat silently while you had parents and people of faith and so many that were being confronted [by the FBI].,” Blackburn said. “I know they’re trying to stall and obstruct, but it is important to note that the American people, on Nov. 5, voted to see change. They want transparency and accountability. They want the end of two tiers of justice, and they want to restore faith in our American institutions now.”
Democrats were concerned about saving the jobs of establishment FBI employees.
“I don’t think the American people were up in arms about purging the Department of Justice or the FBI,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said. “I don’t think they were up in arms wanting a stop to or freeze to federal grants to states. I don’t think they were up in arms calling for the [National Institute of Health] to take action that will result in the halting of medical research. No, what they were up in arms was, let’s lower the price of food, milk, bread. They’re still waiting.”
Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa opened the voting meeting with a lengthy, admonishment of Democrats and the FBI.
“Mr. Patel should be considered our next FBI director, because the FBI has been infected by political bias and weaponized against the American people. Mr. Patel knows it. Mr. Patel exposed it, and Mr. Patel has been targeted for it,” Grassley said. “The FBI has fallen into really old habits and is long overdue for massive reform. Mr. Patel is the man to do it, and that’s why he’s being attacked so viciously right now. Before we even had a hearing, committee members called Mr. Patel by these adjectives: dishonest, untrustworthy, lacking in character, a wolf at the door, a conspiracy theorist, a staunch political loyalist, and lastly, a nightmare. Since his nomination was announced, committee Democrats have sent at least 11 letters to 11 different agencies and parties demanding records and urging investigation into Mr. Patel. Each letter breathlessly accuses Mr. Patel of something new, often citing ‘highly credible anonymous sources’ that don’t fit the facts.”
“We’ve examined every detail of his life, and he’s been subjected to relentless attacks on his character during this whole period of time. Now what we’ve learned from this committee process is what we knew from his resume. Mr. Patel has spent his whole career fighting for righteous causes.”
Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.
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