Trump announced on Nov. 30 that he plans to name Kash Patel as his director of the FBI.
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Current FBI Director Chris Wray would have to voluntarily vacate the position or be fired by Trump if he is to be replaced before his term ends in 2027.
One source previously told CBS News the Trump team was aware of the complexities involved in ousting Wray.
Patel served in intelligence and defense roles in Trump’s first term, including chief of staff to the secretary of defense.
In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump called Patel “a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People.”
The 44-year-old Patel served in intelligence and defense roles in Trump’s first term, including chief of staff to the secretary of defense. He was also designated by Trump to be a representative to the National Archives and Records Administration and testified before a federal grand jury in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.
He is an attorney and staunch Trump loyalist who rose to prominence as an aide to former Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California, fighting the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The University College London graduate served on Trump’s National Security Council, then as a senior adviser to acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, and later as chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.
Patel published a 2023 book titled “Government Gangsters,” which received praise from Trump and in which Patel writes that the “FBI has become so thoroughly compromised that it will remain a threat to the people unless drastic measures are taken.”
“This is the roadmap to end the Deep State’s reign,” Trump said on Truth Social about the book in September 2023.
—Libby Cathey, Jake Rosen, Fin Gómez and Ed O’Keefe
