White House says Kash Patel’s confirmation as FBI Director crucial in President Trump’s agenda to ‘uphold rule of law’
Washington, Feb 21 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Welcoming the confirmation of Kash Patel as the new Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director, the White House described it as “an important step in executing US President Donald Trump’s agenda to restore integrity and uphold the rule of law”.
The White House also emphasised that the FBI will now refocus on its core mission of enforcing justice fairly and without bias.
Sharing a post on X, the White House wrote, “@FBIDirectorKash Patel’s confirmation as FBI Director is a crucial step in executing President Trump’s agenda to restore integrity and uphold the rule of law.”
“The FBI will serve the American people and refocus on its core mission: enforcing justice fairly and without bias,” the post added.
Following his confirmation by the Senate on Thursday as director of the FBI, Patel, an ally of President Trump, expressed his gratitude and vowed to rebuild the agency into one that is “transparent, accountable, and committed to justice”.
Patel thanked President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi for their support and emphasised his commitment to restoring public trust in the FBI.
While the nomination faced opposition from Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, Patel received backing from the rest of the Republican Party, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had previously opposed other Trump nominees.
The confirmation passed with a narrow 51-49 vote, as all Senate Democrats voted against him.
Earlier on Tuesday, Patel cleared a key procedural vote in the Senate with strong Republican backing.
During the Senate confirmation hearings on January 30, while referring to the January 6 Capitol Riots, reiterated his firm stance against violence, emphasising that such actions must never be tolerated.
He stated that anyone who engages in violence against law enforcement should be investigated, prosecuted, and imprisoned.
During the Senate confirmation hearings, Patel said, “For January 6, I have repeatedly, publicly and privately said that there can never be a tolerance for violence against law enforcement. And anyone that commits an act of violence against law enforcement should be investigated, prosecuted and imprisoned.”
He led President Trump’s counterterrorism mission as Deputy Assistant to the President on the National Security Council (NSC) and helped President Trump with his top priorities including eliminating Al-Qaida and ISIS senior leadership and safely repatriating dozens of American hostages.
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