Just after 6 p.m. last Wednesday, FBI director Kash Patel said on X that he was praying for the family of Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in Utah hours earlier. Many expected Patel to fly to the scene of the shooting to lead the hunt for the suspect who had killed his friend. Instead, he was reportedly seated at Rao’s, the exclusive East Harlem Italian restaurant once favored by wiseguys. The next morning, he posted again on X, wrongly announcing that the suspect had been caught. Less than two hours later, Patel had to walk back his claim. In a press conference on Thursday, he praised law enforcement for its response — “This is what happens when you let good cops be cops” — without acknowledging that the suspect was found because his own father turned him in.
Patel, the loyalist Donald Trump picked to run the FBI in his second term, prides himself on making his voice heard on social media and television; as a die-hard pro-Trump podcaster during the Biden years, he learned the importance of appeasing the president in public settings. But the mistakes he made in the aftermath of Kirk’s death have elevated the pressure on the FBI director who has been accused of politicizing the bureau and compromising its ability to act. Law-enforcement officials say that he has failed his first test as a leader with an unnamed source telling NBC News that Patel has a “public inability to meet the moment.” One federal official told Fox News that Patel’s performance over the past week was a total “amateur hour.”
Behind the scenes, ousted top staffers say the situation is even worse, portraying Patel as more focused on his role as a social-media figure than as a director of the federal government’s primary law-enforcement agency. The day before Kirk was killed, three former FBI officials filed a lawsuit accusing Patel of illegally firing them for political reasons. In the 68-page suit, the officials claim that Patel, together with deputy Dan Bongino, has overseen a bureau that has become highly politicized and obsessively focused on social media. Former interim director Brian Driscoll said that Patel told him that he could not serve in an executive role unless he was “prolific” on social media. Spencer Evans, the ousted special agent in charge of the Las Vegas office, said that Patel and Bongino told him and others with his rank to post more about “FBI wins” online. Steven Jensen, the former assistant director of the Washington office, claimed he was worried that “the emphasis Bongino placed on creating content for his social-media pages could risk outweighing more deliberate analyses of investigations.”
They also described how Patel and Bongino have run “a campaign of retribution” within the bureau, even as Patel acknowledged that political firings or reassignments would be against the law. There are some unusual moments in the lawsuit, including an interaction between Patel and Jensen in early July, when Jensen was trying to convince Patel not to fire a man whose wife was dying because it would be “inexcusably cruel.” After he made his case, Patel told Jensen he was “crushing it” and gave him three cigars and a “challenge coin” with the words “Ka$h Patel” on the bottom. (The branding is similar to the merch he sells at his personal website.) The FBI and DOJ have not responded to requests for comment about the lawsuit, which also names Attorney General Pam Bondi as a defendant.
The next few days could determine Patel’s job security as he faces scrutiny from lawmakers and the far-right voices that Trump listens to. Chris Rufo, the Manhattan Institute fellow who helped influence the president’s anti-DEI politics, wrote on Friday that it was “time for Republicans to assess whether Kash Patel is the right man” for the job. “I’ve been on the phone the last few days with many conservative leaders, all of whom wholeheartedly support the Trump Administration and none of whom are confident that the current structure of the FBI is up to this task.” Laura Loomer, the conservative firebrand who has successfully pushed for the removal of several Trump-administration figures, wrote that the $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest was an “embarrassing” amount and a “slap in the face to Charlie Kirk.” Steve Bannon also criticized Patel for going to Utah (late) for a press conference in which he revealed little about the investigation. “I don’t know why Kash flew out there, you know, thousands of miles to give us, ‘Hey, we’re working partnerships and our great partnership in Utah,”’ Bannon said on his podcast. He added that the press conference seemed like it was held just so the officials could tell each other they “did a great job.”
On Tuesday, Patel will begin the first of two days of questions on Capitol Hill when he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary on Wednesday. The hearings were scheduled to discuss the fallout from the president’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. But Patel’s handling of the Kirk investigation will certainly be on the docket.
When Patel arrived at his Senate confirmation hearing this past winter, Republican Mike Lee posted a video of him entering the room scored to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” When he enters on Tuesday, it may be a different tune. Some Republicans are growing tired of Patel’s inexperience and are learning what happens when someone with no law-enforcement experience is put into the national spotlight. As for Democrats on the committee, Greg Bower, a former top FBI official, expects that they will focus on the lawsuit’s allegations that contradict Patel’s claims at his nomination hearings that he would not politicize the bureau. “Patel is either going to say, ‘Look, this is in the litigation, I can’t talk about it,’” says Bower. “Which is not a great look but probably the smartest thing to do from a legal perspective. Or he is just going to deny it.”
“This week’s hearings will, I think, give both Democrats who are critical and Republicans who are increasingly skeptical an opportunity to really evaluate whether this is sustainable,” Bower added.
As for the one opinion that really matters, Trump has supported Patel in public thus far, praising him for the capture of Kirk’s shooter. “I am very proud of the FBI,” Trump said to Fox News. “Kash — and everyone else — they have done a great job.” Patel also isn’t backing down. In an appearance on Fox News Monday morning, he said he did not regret putting the false post on X claiming the shooter was in custody. He also revealed one of his priorities: challenging anyone to think of an FBI director who is “more willing to work the media” than he is.