The U.S. Senate has moved forward with the nomination of Kash Patel to be the director of the FBI. On Tuesday, February 18, 2025, the Senate voted 48-45 along party lines on a procedural measure, setting the stage for a final confirmation vote later this week. The vote started a 30-hour debate period before Patel is expected to receive final approval on Thursday.

Kash Patel, a former intelligence and Defence Department official in Trump’s first term, has called for a radical reshaping of the FBI, pledging to expand its role on illegal immigration and violent crime, core Trump priorities.

Democrats have expressed concerns that Patel would act as a loyalist to the president and target the administration's political enemies. They have called Patel unfit to lead the FBI, pointing to his embrace of false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election and FBI agents fomenting the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Senator Dick Durbin has alleged that Patel was behind mass firings at the FBI. An aide to Patel denied Durbin's claim.

Republicans have touted him as a reformer. They argue that the FBI has been weaponized and that Patel is the right candidate to "clean house". During his Senate confirmation hearings on January 30, Patel reiterated his firm stance against violence, emphasizing that such actions must never be tolerated. He stated that anyone who engages in violence against law enforcement should be investigated, prosecuted, and imprisoned. Patel also reaffirmed his commitment to exposing corruption in government, calling public service a privilege and vowing to continue holding officials accountable.

ANI