Kash Patel cleared a key procedural hurdle on Tuesday on his way to directing the FBI in a 48-45 vote along party lines, paving the way for a final confirmation vote in the coming days.
Patel faced attacks from Democrats over his lack of law enforcement experience — something Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley acknowledged in a speech on the floor before the motion to proceed with his nomination.
“Mr. Patel’s resume doesn’t look like a normal one for FBI director, although everybody knows, in this Congress and maybe in the United States, that we’re not living in normal times,” Grassley said. “The FBI has been infected by politicization, and this storied agency has been weaponized against political opponents. Mr. Patel’s the right man at the right time.”