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The Senate voted Tuesday along party lines to advance the nomination of Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director, clearing a procedural hurdle to set up a final vote on the controversial Trump ally to lead the federal law enforcement agency.
Lawmakers in the Upper Chamber voted 48-45 to advance Patel’s nomination, as Democrats hold concerns that he would operate as a loyalist for the president and target the administration’s political enemies.
This sets up a final confirmation vote later in the week. Some of Trump’s other more controversial picks — including new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — have received enough support from Republican lawmakers seeking to fall in line to push the president’s agenda.
KASH PATEL’S NOMINATION TO LEAD FBI CLEARS FIRST MAJOR SENATE HURDLE
Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
A former intelligence and Defense Department official in Trump’s first term, Patel has supported reshaping the FBI, including by expanding its role to carry out Trump’s mission targeting immigration.
He has been a vocal critic of past FBI investigations into Trump, including on Trump’s mishandling of classified documents, his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and debunked allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Patel has been panned for…
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