The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to confirm Trump loyalist Kash Patel as FBI director in a narrow 51-49 vote, news agencies reported.
Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined all Senate Democrats in opposing Patel, the reports said.
Patel’s fierce loyalty to President Trump has raised the specter of White House politicization of the FBI, at a time when Trump has become ever-more vocal about seeking to punish those he sees as his opponents, including bureaucrats, judges, journalists and even the FBI’s own agents.
“My reservations with Mr. Patel stem from his own prior political activities and how they may influence his leadership,” Murkowski wrote on X.com. “The FBI must be trusted as the federal agency that roots out crime and corruption, not focused on settling political scores. I have been disappointed that when he had the opportunity to push back on the administration’s decision to force the FBI to provide a list of agents involved in the January 6 investigations and prosecutions, he failed to do so.”
Patel has further said he would “shut down the FBI Hoover building on Day One and reopen it the next day as a museum of the deep state.”
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