1 / 8The Senate on Thursday, February 20, narrowly confirmed Kash Patel as the FBI director, appointing him to lead the nation’s top federal law enforcement agency. The decision came amid Democratic concerns over his qualifications and fears that he may act in Donald Trump’s interests by targeting the Republican president’s opponents. (Image: Reuters)
2 / 8A staunch Trump loyalist and vocal critic of the FBI, Patel will take over an agency in turmoil. His tenure begins amid upheaval, as the Justice Department has recently ousted several senior bureau officials and made an unprecedented request for the names of thousands of agents involved in investigations into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. (Image: Reuters)
3 / 8Patel succeeds Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump in 2017. While the FBI director role traditionally carries a 10-year term, Wray resigned last month before Inauguration Day after the incoming Republican president signaled plans to dismiss him. (Image: Reuters)
4 / 8Patel has expressed intentions to implement significant changes within the agency. His plans include downsizing the FBI’s headquarters in Washington and shifting focus back to traditional crime-fighting, moving away from the intelligence and national security priorities that have dominated in recent decades.
5 / 8Patel has also aligned with Trump’s calls for retribution, raising concerns among Democrats after previously stating he would target anti-Trump “conspirators” within the federal government and media. Republicans, frustrated by what they view as law enforcement bias against conservatives under the Biden administration and ongoing criminal investigations into Trump, have strongly backed Patel as the right choice for the position. Here’s all you need to about Kash Patel.
6 / 8India Connection: Kashyap Pramod Vinod Patel, born on February 25, 1980, is the first Indian-American to head the FBI. According to PTI, the 44-year-old has ancestral ties to Bhadran village in Gujarat’s Anand district, from where his family migrated to Uganda 70 to 80 years ago. Patel’s parents, of Indian origin from East Africa—his father from Uganda and his mother from Tanzania—fled anti-Indian persecution in the 1970s. After initially relocating to Canada, they eventually settled in the United States, where Patel was born on Long Island, New York.
7 / 8Education: An American lawyer and former federal prosecutor at the US Department of Justice, Patel holds a BA in history and criminal justice from the University of Richmond (2002), a JD from Pace University School of Law, New York (2005), and a certificate in international law from University College London (2004).
8 / 8Key Positions Held During Trump’s First Presidency: During Donald Trump’s first presidency, Patel held several key positions in national security and intelligence. In 2017, he served as the National Security Advisor and Senior Counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. By 2019, he was appointed Senior Director of the Counterterrorism Directorate at the National Security Council (NSC) in the White House. In 2020, he took on the role of Chief of Staff to then-Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. (Image: Reuters)
