Trump's FBI director nominee Kash Patel faces Senate grilling

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's pick to head the FBI, faces a potentially fiery Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday amid staunch Democratic opposition to his nomination to head the top US law enforcement agency.

Patel, 44, has drawn fire for his promotion of conspiracy theories, his defense of pro-Trump rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and his vow to root out members of the so-called "Deep State" who oppose the Republican president.

Republicans have a 12-10 majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the panel is likely to approve the nomination of the former Trump advisor and Pentagon official, sending it to the full Senate where his prospects are less certain.

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate but three Republican senators voted against Trump's inexperienced nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, forcing Vice President JD Vance to cast the tie-breaking vote.

If confirmed, Patel, who holds a law degree from Pace University and worked as a federal prosecutor, would replace Christopher Wray as director of the 38,000-strong Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Wray was named by Trump to head the FBI but their relations became strained. Wray had three more years remaining in his 10-year term but resigned after Trump won November's presidential election.

A son of Indian immigrants, the New York-born Patel served in several high-level posts during Trump's first administration including as senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council and as chief of staff to the acting defense secretary.

Patel has a reputation of being a fierce defender of the president and supports the Republican hardliner notion of a "Deep State" of allegedly biased government bureaucrats working to stifle Trump from behind the scenes, even having written a book on the subject.

His nomination has been denounced by Democrats and opposed by some Republicans, including more than 20 Republican former law enforcement officials who reportedly sent a letter to Republican senators urging them not to confirm Patel.

According to The Hill, which obtained a copy of the letter, the Republicans said Patel lacks the "record and temperament for FBI leadership" and is "motivated by revenge."

- 'Grave concerns' -

Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said following a recent meeting with Patel that he has "grave concerns about his fitness for the role of FBI director."

"He is a staunch political loyalist who has repeatedly peddled false conspiracy theories and threatened to retaliate against those who have slighted him personally and politically," Durbin said. "He's even published an enemies list of 60 people who he calls 'government gangsters.'"

The senator said Patel's "political grievances make him a favorite of the MAGA world but they have not prepared him to work night and day to keep America safe from violent crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, and other threats."

Trump has defended his choice, saying in a Truth Social post that Patel "is the most qualified Nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency's History and is committed to helping ensure that Law, Order, and Justice will be brought back to our Country again, and soon."

Patel also got a vote of confidence from Trump's pick to be attorney general, Pam Bondi, who said during her Senate confirmation hearing that "Kash is the right person at this time for this job."

"Mr Patel would fall under me and the Department of Justice and I will ensure that all laws are followed and so will he," Bondi added.

According to US media reports, Trump sought to name Patel deputy director of the CIA or the FBI in the waning months of his first term in the White House but dropped the plan after then-CIA director Gina Haspel and then-attorney general Bill Barr threatened to resign in protest.