FBI Director Kash Patel has reacted badly to criticism of his lavish spending, bizarrely hitting back by claiming his jet ski is “gold plated.”
Patel, a former MAGA podcaster with no prior law-enforcement experience, has faced bipartisan scrutiny over his use of an FBI jet for personal travel and allegations that he prefers to conduct official business at social events, soccer matches, while jet skiing, and even during helicopter tours.
After Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley requested records related to Patel’s travel and spending, the FBI director responded in an unusual way. Rather than addressing the broader concerns outlined in Grassley’s letter, first reported by MS NOW, Patel focused on a single detail in the outlet’s graphic that highlighted his reportedly lavish lifestyle.
“Nah, my jet ski is gold plated… dumb--s,” Patel, 46, wrote in response to an article featuring a graphic of him wearing sunglasses alongside images of a private jet, a BMW, a golf club set, and a white-and-blue jet ski.
The article questioned how long President Donald Trump, 80, would continue to stand by the FBI director as scrutiny over Patel’s spending intensified following Grassley’s questions.
The 92-year-old Republican senator asked directly: “For each trip where you used an FBI aircraft for personal travel, have you reimbursed the FBI as required by law? If yes, please provide the records.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman also demanded that Patel explain why he had “decided to purchase BMW vehicles instead of Chevy Suburbans.”
Patel doubled down in his Friday post on X, writing in response to the article, “Your job is to lie. Mine is to protect the American people, and business is good!”
The FBI director faced waves of criticism last year after reports revealed he used an FBI jet to watch his country singer girlfriend Alexis Wilkins, 27, perform at a wrestling event in Pennsylvania and to fly to her hometown of Nashville for personal trips on the bureau’s $60 million aircraft.
The allegations prompted a response far longer than Patel’s Friday post, as the FBI director called the claims “baseless” and defended his girlfriend, whom he described as a “country music sensation.”
In December, after MS NOW reported that Patel had ordered the FBI to purchase several BMW X5s for the director’s use instead of the traditional Chevrolet Suburbans, an FBI spokesperson defended the decision, saying the vehicles were “cheaper” than upgrading the bureau’s existing fleet.
In January, a senior FBI executive told the New York Times that Patel demanded “special requirements on everything” while attending the annual Five Eyes conference, a gathering of security and intelligence officials. The executive said others at the event were left questioning the request.
“Everyone who heard about this was like: Hold on. Is he really going to ask the MI5 director to go jet skiing instead of meeting?” the executive told the Times.
One of Patel’s leisure-tinged global work trips in his time as FBI director allegedly included a snorkeling excursion to the USS Arizona, the sunken battleship that rests at the bottom of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and serves as a memorial and a war grave for more than 900 crew members. Internal emails described the outing as “VIP snorkel.”
FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson told MS NOW that Patel has been “strictly following the Office of Management and Budget rules, in the exact same manner as all previous FBI Directors.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the FBI for further comment.
