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Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii clashed with FBI Director Kash Patel during a heated Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, questioning agency firings, counterterrorism priorities and even calling the bureau’s physical fitness requirements “harsh” for applicants.
In an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, Patel said: “Americans expect their FBI agents to be capable, resilient, and ready to protect them.”
“That’s why, under my watch, every field office is receiving more trained agents, more boots on the ground, and a renewed commitment to getting out from behind the desks and back onto the streets where they’re needed most. We’re rebuilding a bureau that earns the public’s confidence by being present, prepared, and physically ready to do the job,” Patel concluded.
The most viral clash came when Hirono pressed Patel on fitness standards.
‘MOST TRANSPARENT’ FBI EVER: PATEL UPDATES SENATE ON KIRK ASSASSINATION PROBE
FBI Director Kash Patel defended the Bureau’s physical fitness standards against Democrat Sen. Hirono’s claim that pull-ups were “harsh” on Tuesday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“One question I had is that you are now requiring applicants to be able to do a certain kind of pull-ups which a lot of women cannot because of physiological differences. Are you requiring these kinds of pull-ups?” Hirono asked.
Patel didn’t budge.
“We are requiring everybody to pass the 1811 standards at BFTC. If you want to chase down a bad guy, excuse me, and put him in handcuffs, you had better be able to do a pull-up.”
Hirono replied, “There are concerns about whether or not being able to do these kinds of harsh pull-ups is really required of FBI agents.”
KASH PATEL’S FBI LEADERSHIP UNDER SCRUTINY AHEAD OF SENATE JUDICIARY OVERSIGHT HEARING
Democrat Senator Mazie Hirono asserted that “physiological differences” between men and women made the FBI’s physical fitness standards, including pull-ups, “harsh.”…
