Reactions have come fast and hard following Kash Patel’s nomination to lead the FBI. Donald Trump made the selection amid years of corruption and abuse within the nation’s top law enforcement agency, citing Patel’s role in uncovering the Russian collusion hoax.
To be sure, though, his resume extends much further, having held numerous high-level positions in the Pentagon, DOJ, and NSC. Anyone claiming he’s not “qualified” is simply not telling the truth.
Still, some are trying to make that case by sharing a quote from Bill Barr’s 2022 tell-all book in which he trashed Patel as having “virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency.” At the time, Barr was referring to the possibility of Patel becoming deputy director at the FBI.
I categorically opposed making Patel deputy FBI director. I told Mark Meadows it would happen “over my dead body.” In the first place, all the leadership positions in the bureau, except the director, have always been FBI agents. They’ve all gone through the same agent training and have had broad experience in the field and at headquarters. Someone with no background as an agent would never be able to command the respect necessary to run the day-to-day operations of the bureau. Furthermore, Patel had virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency.