President Donald Trump, who leads the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has covered support from leading Republican senators on the road to confirmation.
R-La. Senator Bill Cassidy said Tuesday he will vote to confirm Kash Patel to serve as FBI director for a 10-year term.
“I spoke with several people I respected about Kash Patel this weekend,” wrote Cassidy, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
“The people who worked closely with Kash have assured him. I'll vote for him to confirm,” Cassidy said.
“Grotesque false features” of KashPatel Hammers from DEMS amid a fiery FBI confirmation hearing
Files – President Donald Trump's choice to become director of the FBI will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 30, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington for a confirmation hearing. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)
The Senate overcomes the procedural hurdles surrounding Patel's nomination on Tuesday, voting 48-45 votes and sets the final vote for his nomination on Thursday.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Patel's nomination in a 12-10 party vote to be considered throughout the upper chambers of Congress last Thursday. After Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee made Patel's seven-day appointment, Sen. R-Iowa, the chairman of the committee, defended Patel last week before the vote.
Grassley said Patel “had spent his entire career due to the cause of righteousness” and “is a public defense counsel representing the accused against the power of the state.”
R-La. Senator Bill Cassidy appears to testify at the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on January 30, 2025. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Four of the biggest conflicts between Patel, his confirmation hearing dems
“He's a Congressional staff and is investigating the partisanization of our legal system. And he is a major national security role, protecting Americans from foreign enemies.” Grassley told the committee. “He has received support from former FBI agents, former federal and state prosecutors, and organisations representing more than 680,000 law enforcement officers. However, Patel's resume, his achievements and his work. “The support of this is not why he is the best person for his job.”
Grassely said Patel should be the next FBI director as the FBI has been infected with political bias and is weaponized against Americans.
Kash Patel is sworn in at Capitol Hill on January 30, 2025 at Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, appointed FBI director. (Mandel nkan/AFP via Getty Images)
“Patel knows that, he reveals it and he's targeted for it,” he said. Patel explained that he “contributed to the revelation of the Crossfire Hurricane,” and stated that “the Democratic National Committee provided funding false allegations against President Trump, DOJ and FBI will hold a presidential election from FISA courts The fact that the FBI lawyer lied in the process by hiding information to wiretap it.”
“As a reward for his efforts to uncover the truth, he was attacked by the media and DOJ secretly summoned his record,” Grassley said. “I know one or two things about this kind of retaliation.”
At a confirmation hearing last month, Patel refused to testify from the Great Jury in a case of a dropped confidential document against Trump, and said he had been told that he had been “via the Deep State Criticism,” the committee said. It clashed with Democrats. “The Democrats had asked for a second confirmation hearing for Patel, but Grassley denied the request.
Trump nominated Patel in November and replaced former FBI director Chris Ray. Trump tapped Ray to lead the FBI in his first administration, but later accused him of weaponizing the agency.
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Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkovsky of Alaska, have not confirmed whether they will vote in support of Patel.
Both Collins and Murkowski voted against the confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegses, among other things.
