FBI Director nominee Kash Patel takes on senators' questions about overhauling the bureau

President Trump’s FBI Director nominee Kash Patel on Thursday is facing questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee about his suitability to lead the premier law enforcement agency.

Similar to Mr. Trump’s Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi, who the panel voted out of committee along party lines Wednesday, Mr. Patel will undergo fierce scrutiny by Democrats about his independence from the president and fears he will use the FBI to go after Mr. Trump’s political enemies.

Mr. Patel is not facing opposition from Republican senators who control the Senate 53 to 47.

Following his nomination, Mr. Patel quickly gained the confidence of Republican senators he met who shared his and Mr. Trump’s frustration with FBI leadership under President Biden and supported plans to root out political bias from investigations.

Mr. Patel is a former Defense Department senior official who previously served as the deputy assistant to Mr. Trump during his first term and as senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council.

He also served as senior counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence under Rep. Devin Nunes, California Republican. Before that, he was the DOJ liaison officer to the Joint Special Operations Command.

Republicans have said they want the bureau “de-politicized” and returned to its original mission of fighting crime.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, has long scrutinized the FBI’s leadership and what he sees as corruption, including reports of FBI abuse of power, retaliation against whistleblowers, election interference and manipulation of crime statistics.

Democrats and their anti-Trump allies say Mr. Patel is not suited for the position and will “weaponize” the bureau to benefit Mr. Trump.

Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee, said he won’t support Mr. Patel’s nomination.

On Wednesday, he spearheaded a letter with fellow committee Democrats to acting Attorney General James McHenry demanding the release of materials from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations of Mr. Trump that refer to or pertain to Mr. Patel.

“The Committee cannot adequately fulfill its constitutional duty without reviewing details in the report of Mr. Patel’s testimony under oath, which is necessary to evaluate Mr. Patel’s truthfulness, trustworthiness, and regard for the protection of classified information,” the senators wrote.

The special counsel ended the prosecution of Mr. Trump after he won the 2024 presidential election.