Democratic senators promised to give Kash Patel a hard time in a hearing before the chamber’s Judiciary Committee.
Democrats on the committee said in a post shared on X that they plan to grill the embattled FBI director over his leadership during an annual oversight hearing next week.
“When he was confirmed, we made it clear that Kash Patel lacked the experience, judgement, and temperament to lead the FBI. Tragically, the results of his incompetence have been staggering,” the Senate Judiciary Democrats wrote. “Next week, Judiciary Democrats will demand he answer for his failed leadership.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the FBI for comment.
Patel, 46, has a lot to answer for since his last appearance before the congressional oversight committees, which didn’t go so well.
During last year’s Senate oversight hearing, the FBI director lost his temper after California Sen. Adam Schiff pressed him on the Justice Department’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell, who is serving 20 years for sex trafficking in Florida, was transferred to a minimum-security prison shortly after a two-day interview with then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
The Democratic senator asked Patel why the bureau, under his leadership, moved Maxwell to a cushier prison without consulting the DOJ, which made the FBI director blow up.
“What I am doing is protecting this country, providing historic reforms and combating the weaponization of intelligence by the likes of you,” he raged. “And we have countlessly proven you to be a liar in Russiagate, in January 6th.”
“You are the biggest fraud to ever sit in the United States Senate,” Patel screamed at Schiff. “You are a disgrace to this institution and an utter coward.”
Things weren’t much better at his House oversight hearing.
While being questioned about whether President Donald Trump’s name appeared in the Epstein files by disgraced former Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell, Patel proceeded to spell out the alphabet in defiance of the question.
Patel was also photographed jotting down notes of self-encouragement during his House hearing, writing things like “Good fight w/ Swalwell” and “Brush off their attacks!”
Now, the congressional committees have even more ammunition for their scrutiny.
Since last year’s hearings, Patel has racked up an impressive record of blunders, including a bombshell report in The Atlantic that alleged his “excessive drinking,” his booze-fueled gold medal celebration with the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team, and his habit of prematurely posting inside details of active FBI investigations.
In one of his latest appalling moves as FBI director, Patel did away with hiring guidelines that prevented applicants with certain past misdeeds, including hiring a prostitute and engaging in bestiality, from being eligible for roles in the agency.
The decision reportedly aimed to boost recruitment after a wave of firings and resignations during the second Trump administration.
