Kash Patel is a strong conservative nominated by President Trump to serve as the Director of the FBI in the second Trump Administration, who was confirmed by a 51-49 vote on February 20, 2025, as California liberal Democrat Adam Schiff failed in attempting to block his confirmation.[1]
Background
A native of New York, Kash Patel completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Richmond before returning to New York to earn his law degree, along with a Certificate in International Law from University College London Faculty of Laws in the United Kingdom.
Career
Patel previously served as the former chief-of-staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, in the first Trump Administration. Before that, Patel served as the Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism (CT) at the National Security Council (NSC). Patel also served as Principal Deputy to the Acting Director of National Intelligence where he oversaw the President's Daily Briefing (PDB).
Before joining the NSC, Patel served as the National Security Advisor and Senior Counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), where he spearheaded the investigation into the Russian active measures campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election. Concurrently, he oversaw sensitive programs for the Intelligence Community and U.S. Special Operations Forces and worked to enact legislation to fully fund the multi-billion dollar budgets supporting intelligence and counterterrorism operations worldwide.
Patel joined the HPSCI following his tenure as a terrorism prosecutor at the Department of Justice (DOJ), where he led investigations spanning multiple theaters of conflict and oversaw the successful prosecution of criminals aligned with al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other terror groups. Patel also served as the DOJ Liaison Officer to Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).
Patel began his career as a public defender, trying scores of complex cases ranging from murder, to narco-trafficking, to complex financial crimes in jury trials in state and federal courts.