Why Donald Trump picking Kash Patel as FBI director is a nightmare for his critics

US President-Elect Donald Trump has nominated Kashyap "Kash" Patel as the new FBI director. Patel is a staunch Trump ally who worked as chief of staff to the secretary of defence during the first Trump administration. 

Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to make the announcement. "Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People," his post read.  "He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution," the president-elect added, referring to Patel's role during the investigation into Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

Patel, who was a senior counsel to former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) in 2017 and 2018, came into Trump's orbit first when he helped the Nunes-led House Intelligence Committee come up with the inquiry into the FBI’s Russia investigation. Patel had then drafted the controversial memo that accused the FBI of making mistakes in how it obtained a warrant to conduct surveillance of former Trump 2016 campaign adviser Carter Page. 

The position will require Republican-dominated Senate confirmation and Patel remains a divisive figure even among hard-core Trump loyalists. If cleared, Kash will replace current FBI Director Chris Wray, who too was nominated by Trump in 2017 but the duo later fell out of favour. Though Wray’s term will not expire until 2027, Trump had made it clear that he would be replaced and often attacked Wray and the FBI, especially during the search of his Florida property for classified documents. 

Trump's latest bombshell is a worry for the President-Elect's critics as Patel has vowed to chase down Trump's enemies in the "Deep State" and the media. "We’re going to come after you. Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out," Patel said last year.

Patel, a right-wing voice in podcasts, is also someone who believes the 2020 elections were stolen from Trump. He has also called for "cleaning out disloyal federal civil servants who abused their positions in government to conspire against Trump." So much so that Trump endorsed Patel's book "Government Gangsters" calling it "the roadmap to end the Deep State's reign". The book calls for a cleaning up of the Justice Department and an eradication of "government tyranny" within the FBI. Reports claim that even during his tenure with the first Trump administration, Patel was hell-bent on echoing Trump's rhetoric seeking revenge against the "Deep State" of political adversaries.

The child of Indian immigrants, Patel also wants to suspend the security clearances of government officials involved in the Russia investigation permanently suspended.  Patel's controversial suggestions include reducing the FBI’s footprint and closing down the bureau’s headquarters in Washington.  He also wants to declassify reams of government secrets.