Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) announced he would vote to confirm President Trump's choice to lead the FBI.
Cassidy, chairman of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Tuesday that he said “multiple people who respect Kash Patel this weekend, both are mixed up.”
“The people who worked closely with Kash have assured him. I will vote for him to confirm,” he said. I wrote it Tuesday at X
Patel's new support from the GOP Senator is because the Chamber of Commerce is ready to vote for his formal confirmation later this week.
On Tuesday, the Senate was nominated in the Patel 48-45 party vote, and he took a step closer to confirmation, an agency that accused Republican lawmakers of suffering from politics, accusing them of being weaponized “against Americans.” led the Several of the senators did not vote.
Patel, a former House employee who served in several national security positions during Trump's first term, was advanced from the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday by a 12-10 vote.
The candidate has been under severe scrutiny from Democrats over his previous comments that he appears to be keeping his distance at last month's hearing.
Republicans defended Patel, claiming he would restore faith in the FBI, and that he fought “for causes of righteousness” throughout his career.
“He is a public defense counsel and represents the accused against the power of the state. He is a parliamentary official investigating the partisanization of our legal system, and he is a major national security. He served as a security role and protected Americans from foreign enemies.”
Republicans, Senators Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Mayne) have not said whether they will vote to confirm Patel.
Both voted against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses, who was eventually confirmed in the tiebreaker vote.
Collins decided how to vote for the candidate after telling CNN he was looking at “additional material from the hearing” Tuesday night.
