U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King of Maine on Thursday both voted to oppose the confirmation of Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's controversial pick to lead the FBI.
Patel was still confirmed by the Republican controlled Senate, 51-49. He will oversee an $11.3 billion agency of 38,000 employees that has been rocked in recent weeks as the Trump administration has sought more influence over it.
The president's appointees have requested the names of employees who worked on investigations into the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol in 2021 when Trump supporters attempted to stop the certification of the 2020 election. The FBI is the main investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ recently began purging prosecutors who worked on cases involving Trump or the Jan. 6 riots.
Collins referenced those developments in a prepared statement announcing that she planned to vote against Patel's confirmation. She criticized Patel for what she described as his aggressive political activity and for statements that she said discredited the work of the agency. Collins, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Patel's recent political profile "undermines his ability to serve in the a-political role of Director of the FBI."
She also raised concerns about the Trump administration potentially targeting FBI agents involved in certain investigations. The Trump administration has ordered the FBI to compile a list of agents who helped investigate the Jan. 6, 2020, attacks on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters, and Trump has said he would fire some of those agents.
Collins said any efforts "to promote accountability at the FBI" must be done in a way that avoids driving away dedicated public servants.
“In this context, there is a compelling need for an FBI Director who is decidedly apolitical," Collins said. "While Mr. Patel has had 16 years of dedicated public service, his time over the past four years has been characterized by high profile and aggressive political activity. Mr. Patel has made numerous politically charged statements in his book and elsewhere discrediting the work of the FBI, the very institution he has been nominated to lead. These statements, in conjunction with the questionnaire sent to thousands of FBI employees, cast doubt on Mr. Patel’s ability to advance the FBI’s law enforcement mission in a way that is free from the appearance of political motivation."
Collins and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the only Republicans who opposed Patel's confirmation.
