US: Senate vote advances Kash Patel's nomination for FBI
Feb 19, 2025
Washington DC [US], February 19 : Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director-nominee Kash Patel on Tuesday made progress with a procedural vote in the Senate, receiving strong support from Republicans who are confident that President Donald Trump's pick will be confirmed later this week, The New York Post reported.
The Senate voted 48-45 along party lines to move forward with the nomination, kicking off a 30-hour debate period before Patel is expected to receive final approval on Thursday, The New York Post said, citing sources.
During the Senate confirmation hearings on January 30, while referring to the January 6 Capitol Riots, reiterated his firm stance against violence, emphasizing that such actions must never be tolerated.
He stated that anyone who engages in violence against law enforcement should be investigated, prosecuted, and imprisoned.
During the Senate confirmation hearings, Patel said, "For January 6, I have repeatedly, publicly and privately said that there can never be a tolerance for violence against law enforcement. And anyone that commits an act of violence against law enforcement should be investigated, prosecuted and imprisoned."
Patel also reaffirmed his commitment to exposing corruption in government, calling public service a privilege and vowing to continue holding officials accountable.
"On January 6, I have said the same thing on acts against law enforcement... If there is any corruption, I have been the first to call it out and I will continue to call out corruption in government service because it is a privilege to serve this nation," Patel said.
The nominee, who has celebrated rank-and-file FBI agents for being "courageous, apolitical warriors of justice," will serve a 10-year term if confirmed as one of the nation's chief law enforcement officers, The New York Post reported.
Kash Patel served as the Chief of Staff to the Department of Defense (DoD) and Deputy Assistant to President Trump. As the Chief of Staff at DoD, his responsibilities included implementing the Secretary's no fail mission with our 3 million plus employees, operating a USD 740 billion budget, and USD 2 trillion in assets.
He led President Trump's counterterrorism mission as Deputy Assistant to the President on the National Security Council (NSC) and helped President Trump's on his top priorities including eliminating Al-Qa'ida and ISIS senior leadership, and safely repatriating dozens of American hostages. As the top counterterrorism official at the White House, Kash was responsible for creating and implementing our nation's policy to safeguard the homeland by overseeing the interagency implementation of the national CT strategy.
