White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday when asked about nominating Kash Patel to head the FBI that he can't worry about what will happen after President-elect Trump takes office in January. spoke.
The ABC's Jonathan Karl pointed out that Patel had spoken of retaliation and questioned whether her comments meant she was concerned about “what will happen after January 20”.
“We can't worry about after January 20th. We have to worry about it until January 20th. And the United States has every challenge and opportunity to advance its national interests.” “My job is to protect this country, reduce the capabilities of our adversaries, and increase the capabilities of our allies. There's a lot of work to do. And frankly, we're looking forward to a smooth transition with the incoming Trump team.” We're going to try to do that in a way that makes the transition happen.”
President Trump announced plans to nominate Patel on Saturday, elevating a controversial figure who is a staunch ally who has called for mass layoffs at both the Justice Department and the FBI, among other things.
Sullivan pointed out on ABC that FBI director Chris Wray's term does not end in 2027, noting that the FBI director's term is 10 years, so he is appointed beyond the president.
“We took over Director Chris Wray, who was actually appointed by President Trump to head the FBI. He continued to serve in that role throughout the four years of the Biden administration, and to his credit, was completely isolated from politics.” He is the current president of the United States,” Sullivan said. “This is a good bipartisan tradition that President Biden has adhered to. And that's really all I can say.”
President Trump's announcement signaled his plan to fire Wray, who was first nominated to be president-elect in 2017.
Patel is expected to face a tough confirmation battle in the Senate over her complex background, including her role in trying to discredit Democratic investigations into President Trump's ties to Russia while serving as a consultant on the House Intelligence Committee. There is.
