Kash Patel, Trump's pick for FBI director, answers questions on Jan. 6 , QAnon, and more

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told reporters at the capitol that he thought Kash Patel, President Trump's pick to lead the FBI, was "doing really well so far."

Amid Patel's marathon hearing Thursday reporters caught the GOP senator outside his office and took the chance to ask him his opinion of Patel's performance thus far.

"He's doing really well so far," Lee responded. Meanwhile, when asked if he thought any Democrats would vote for Patel, Lee responded that he believed there would be.

Trump's pick for FBI director faced questions from senators Thursday for more than 5 hours. Patel said during his hearing that, if confirmed, his priorities will include going after violent crime and exposing "any government corruption" while restoring "the trust" in the bureau.

Democrats sounded off about the White House sending U.S. troops to the southern border — but Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll insists he does not believe it will affect readiness. 

"Is there a cost in terms of readiness?" Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat in the Senate Armed Services Committee, asked Driscoll during his confirmation hearing on Thursday. 

"The Army has a long, 249 history of balancing multiple objectives," Driscoll said. "If this is important to the commander-in-chief, the Army will execute it." 

"I think border security is national security," he went on. "We’ve had soldiers at the border for a number of years, and the Army stands ready for any mission.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., also voiced concerns about sending the military to the U.S. border.

"We're seeing now active duty military, Army, be sent to the border, being sent on missions right now to support" the Department of Homeland Security, she said. "But according to our Constitution, the U.S. military active duty cannot perform law enforcement roles."

Excerpted story by Morgan Phillips.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said President Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, was giving "the appearance" that he is hiding something after he refused to share his grand jury testimony from the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified records.

"The appearance here is that you have something to hide. I submit to my colleagues on the committee, we need to know what the grand jury testimony is ... and you have no objection to our seeking it but you won't tell us. Even in a classified, confidential setting. I think that position is disqualifying."

Patel told lawmakers during his Thursday hearing that he was unable to share his testimony due to grand jury confidentiality rules. He was subpoenaed in 2022 to respond to questions about whether Trump had ordered the classified documents in question to be declassified before taking them to his personal residence.

"What are you hiding?" questioned Blumenthal. "Why won't you tell us?"

Trump FBI nominee Kash Patel said if confirmed, his priorities will include going after violent crime and exposing "any government corruption" while restoring "the tust" in the bureau during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"The two themes that if I'm confirmed that I have for the FBI are really just going back to keeping it simple," Patel said during Thursday's hearing. "One, that good cops be cops. 100,000 drug overdoses, 100,000 rapes, 17,000 homicides. That's only with 70% of the precincts reporting in. That is violent crime exploding out of control."

"And I'm going to let good cops be cops and put handcuffs on the bad guys and put child molesters in prison and put murderers in prison and make sure CP fentanyl doesn't kill another one of your constituents," he continued. "That's track one, track two, to restore the trust in the FBI that has degraded not by my opinion, by the Gallup poll that only 40% of Americans have trust and faith in the FBI. It is a cataclysmic failure in leadership to get to that point."

Patel added the FBI must "work with Congress ... to expose any government corruption" and "provide government accountability through transparency."

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., clashed with FBI director nominee Kash Patel during his confirmation hearing on Thursday, particularly over a recording of a song released by Capitol Riot inmates.

Schiff began by asking Patel if he stood by prior testimony that he had nothing to do with the recording of the song, which the Democrat said featured President Donald Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

"[That] is interesting because here's what you told Steve Bannon on his podcast: ‘So what we thought would be cool is if we captured that audio ... Then we went to a studio and recorded it, mastered it, digitized it, and put it out as a song’."

Schiff asked Patel why he told Bannon that.

"That’s why it says ‘we’ as you highlighted," Patel incredulously shot back.

"Yeah, and you’re part of that ‘we’ – right – when you say ‘we’ that includes you, Mr. Patel," Schiff angrily replied.

"Not in every instance." Patel said, adding he did not personally partake in the recording or mastering of the single.

FBI Director-nominee Kash Patel sparred with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., over whether he could release his testimony to a grand jury that investigated President Donald Trump's handling of classified information.

Whitehouse contended that the law states that grand jury rule 6E relating to testimony does not apply to witnesses.

He asked Patel if he therefore authorizes the Senate Judiciary Committee to view his testimony.

"I cant go into court orders granted by the DC district chief judge," Patel later replied.

"If they apply to you, of course you can," Whitehouse responded.

"You want me to violate a court order?" asked Patel.

"You're saying that there is a secret court order in which you cannot tell if you're subject to a court order or not?" the Ocean State Democrat followed-up.

The lawmaker later moved on to ask Patel to pledge to preserve all FBI records, particularly to those relating to criminal probes of Trump.

Patel agreed.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., blasted his Democrat colleagues on the Judiciary committee for leveling partisan questions about Jan. 6 and the 2020 election during Kash Patel's confirmation hearing to be the next director of the FBI.

"Come on guys, let's be real here. If anything, I hope I've been consistent. Let's just be balanced. You know, really? We've had colleagues on the other side of the aisle call President Trump an illegitimate president," Tillis said during the Thursday hearing. "The witness has acknowledged that President Biden's election was certified. If you want to abuse a specific word -- what are we in high school? I mean, come on."

Social media users took to the internet following Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Wednesday confirmation hearing to ask questions about whether the HHS Secretary nominee inserted a synthetic nicotine pouch into his mouth while being probed by senators.

A clip of the HHS Secretary nominee circulating on social media showed him seemingly inserting one of the Zyn pouches into his mouth Wednesday. Meanwhile, another clip appears to show RFK Jr. holding the traditional plastic case that most Wintergreen flavored Zyn pouches come in.

Sen. Cory Booker got into a heated exchange with Trump FBI director nominee Kash Patel Thursday over whether Patel has testified to witnessing President Donald Trump declassifying documents after his first presidency.

The now-dropped case focused on allegations that Trump unlawfully retained sensitive government materials at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructed efforts to retrieve them after leaving office following his first term.

"So you're not willing to tell Congress after making many pledges today about transparency, whether or not you testified to witnessing the President of the United States declassify documents? In the name of all the values you have said today, did you or did you not testify to witnessing the President of the United States declassify documents?" Booker asked.

"I testified accordingly, and under oath, and I encourage you to get that transferred by the law of our land," Patel responded.

"And by the law of the land, you are free to tell people, what are you hiding from Congress?" Booker asked. "Answer the question. Did you testify to witnessing the President of the United States declassifying documents, yes or no?"

"Senator, the grand jury testimony is available to you. I encourage you to make it public," Patel said.

The classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel. 

Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Mark Warner expressed concerns over former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, most notably after he refusal to call Edward Snowden a “traitor” during Thursday’s confirmation hearing.

Kelly told reporters after Gabbard’s confirmation hearing Thursday that the nominee declining to say whether she believes Snowden is a “traitor” raised concerns for him.

“It’s pretty easy to say the guy is a traitor,” the Arizona senator said.

During Thursday’s proceedings Gabbard was asked by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., if she would characterize Snowden as a traitor.

"Senator, my heart is with my commitment to our Constitution and our nation's security," Gabbard responded, adding that she is committed to "making sure that there is no future Snowden-type leak." 

Warner also expressed similar concerns about Gabbard’s answer on Snowden.

“She couldn’t call Edward Snowden a traitor,” he told reporters after the hearing. “She didn’t even refute calling him brave.”

The Senate Budget Committee voted Thursday to advance the nomination of President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought, to the Senate floor by a margin of 11–0, despite strong opposition from Democrats who claim he is unqualified. 

Democrats pushed to delay the vote after the office issued a memo on Monday ordering a pause on all federal grants and loans aiming to eradicate "wokeness" and the "weaponization of government" to improve government efficiency.

Democrats claimed that the move was an attempt to circumvent Congress and withhold congressionally appropriated funds, violating the Impoundment Control Act.

Vought repeatedly told lawmakers during his confirmation hearings that he believes the Impoundment Control Act is unconstitutional. 

The White House rescinded the memo on Wednesday, after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that there was “no uncertainty in this building” about the memo and that the pause was only temporary. 

Meanwhile, Democrats urged the entire Senate to reject Vought’s nomination on Thursday following the committee vote, cautioning that Vought would attempt to impound funds again if confirmed. 

Trump should drop Vought’s nomination altogether, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., or else Vought will “become baggage” for the American people and the administration. 

The OMB is responsible for developing and executing the president’s budget, as well as overseeing and coordinating legislative proposals and priorities aligned with the executive branch.

President Donald Trump's pick to be the next director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, received a round of applause following her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Gabbard faced tough questions during her hearing from both Republicans and Democrats about her previous support of Edward Snowden, who she refused to call a traitor during the hearing. Senators from both parties also questioned Gabbard about her past stances on Iran, Syria, and Russia.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., put out a statement after a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the Foreign Relations Committee voted to advanced her nomination to serve in the Trump administration to a full floor vote.

President Donald Trump tapped Stefanik to serve as the ambassador to the United Nations under his administration. Stefanik, who currently serves as a Republican congresswoman from New York, said she was "honored" to receive the support from the Senate on her nomination.

“I am honored for this morning’s bipartisan vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee supporting my nomination as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Stefanik said in a post on X following the vote.

“I will continue to work through the Senate confirmation process to bring President Trump’s America First peace through strength leadership to the UN,” she added.

Ahead of the committee vote on Stefanik's nomination, Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said that she would be voting in favor of her nomination because she was "pleased to hear her [Stefanik] talk about her interest in supporting the work of the UN and trying to ensure that it operates better."

A previously identified anti-Trump FBI agent allegedly broke protocol and played a critical role in opening and advancing the bureau’s original investigation related to the 2020 election, tying President Donald Trump to the probe without sufficient predication, whistleblower disclosures obtained by Sen. Chuck Grassley revealed. 

The documents prove the genesis of the federal election interference case brought against Trump, known internally at the FBI as "Arctic Frost," began at the hands of FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault, according to Grassley. Fox News Digital exclusively reported in 2024 that Thibault had been fired from the FBI after he violated the Hatch Act in his political posts on social media. Previous whistleblowers claimed that Thibault had shown a "pattern of active public partisanship," which likely affected investigations involving Trump and Hunter Biden. 

Sources also indicated that Thibault took the action to open the investigation and involve Trump, despite being unauthorized to open criminal investigations in his role — only special agents have the authority to open criminal investigations.

This is an excerpt from Fox News' Brooke Singman's original report. 

President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kash Patel, clapped back at Democratic accusations that he is a partisan and cannot run the FBI fairly during his confirmation hearing, calling them "false" and "grotesque."

Patel's remarks came amid a testy exchange between Patel and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., during which the Democratic senator questioned Patel about wanting to allegedly shut down the FBI headquarters in Washington and reopen it as "a museum of the deep state."

"I deserve an answer to that question," demanded Klobuchar.

"You got anything you want to say Mr. Patel before I go on to Sen. Leahy?" Chairman of the Judiciary hearing Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Patel.

"Simply this: If the best attacks on me are going to be false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations the only thing this body is doing is defeating the credibility of the men and women at the FBI," Patel responded. "Any accusations leveled against me that I would somehow put political bias before the constitution are grotesquely unfair."

Patel later told Sen. Chirs Coons, D-Del., during the hearing that his statements about shutting down the FBI's headquarters in Washington were intended to help the FBI workforce get boots on the ground outside of the nation's capital where much of their jobs take place.

Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii continued her opening line of questioning about sexual misconduct to Trump's FBI nominee Kash Patel. She posed such questions to Pete Hegseth, nominated for Secretary of Defense and confirmed last week, and Pam Bondi, nominated for Attorney General..

"Mr. Patel, as part of my responsibility as a member of this committee, asked the following two initial questions of all nominees before any of my committees. Since you became a legal don't have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?"

"No, Senator, I have not," Patel responded.

"Have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement relating to this kind of conduct?" Hirono asked.

"No, Senator, I have not."

Hironi said on X last week that she's asked every nominee before committees she's sat on these questions since 2018

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Co., got heated during Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation hearing to be the next director of national intelligence over Gabbard's veiled responses to questions on whether she thought Edward Snowden was a "traitor."

"Senator, if confirmed as director of national intelligence I will work with you to make sure there is not another Snowden-like leak," Gabbard told Bennett.

However, the response did not satisfy Bennett.

"This is when the rubber meets the road," Bennet argued to Gabbard. "You need to answer the questions of the people whose votes you're asking for to be confirmed as the chief intelligence officer of this nation. As my colleague said this is not about you, it's about the people who serve the intelligence agencies of the United States. Is Edward Snowden a traitor to the United States of America? That is not a hard question to answer when the stakes are this high!" Bennett told Gabbard. "

Trump FBI director nominee Kash Patel was grilled Thursday over the FBI’s investigation into alleged Trump-Russia connections in the aftermath of the 2016 election, known colloquially by its nickname "Crossfire Hurricane," and which has emerged as something of a partisan lightning rod in the years since the investigation was closed.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, for his part, used most of his allotted time Thursday to grill Patel over his views on the investigation, which he has railed against as politically motivated and a "disgusting" use of FBI resources

Patel was tapped in 2017 by then-House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes to join the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe— an investigation that was widely praised by Republicans as helping discredit the FBI's inquest.

"Is it fair to say that the people in charge of investigating Crossfire Hurricane hated Trump's guts?" Graham asked Patel Thursday during his confirmation hearing.

"Yes, sir," Patel responded.

Excerpted story by Breanne Deppisch.

Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll questioned whether Army helicopters should be flying training missions in one of the nation’s most congested flight paths after Wednesday's tragic Washington, D.C.-area collision.

"It’s an accident that seems to be preventable," Driscoll, an Army veteran, said during a Thursday confirmation hearing at the Armed Services Committee."There are appropriate times to take risk and inappropriate times to take risk," he said.

"I think we need to look at where is an appropriate time to take training risk, and it may not be at an airport like Reagan." 

Sixty-four people were aboard the American Airlines flight inbound from Wichita, Kan., which collided with an Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter just before it was set to touch down at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Authorities do not believe anyone survived. 

Excerpted story by Morgan Phillips.