KASH PATEL

MSN -  Republicans and Democrats alike argued that replacing Wray — who has held the [FBI chief] job since 2017 — with Patel showcases Trump’s efforts to appoint close allies who espouse his views and have expressed support for his plans to take aim at the country’s justice system.

Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) said that Trump “has the right” to make appointments and that he was not surprised the president-elect is picking “people that he believes are very loyal to himself.” But he also praised Wray, calling him “a very good man” and saying he’d had no “complaints” or “objections” about his stewardship of the agency. He noted that Trump appointed Wray to a 10-year term.

Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton calls for the Senate to reject the nomination of Kash Patel for FBI director: 

Mother Jones -  Patel has been supportive of the most loony conspiracy theory in MAGA land: QAnon. The QAnon theory, which arose in 2017, holds that an intelligence operative known only as Q has revealed through cryptic messages that a cabal of global, Satanic, cannibalistic elitists and pedophiles is operating a child sex trafficking operation as it vies for world domination and conspires against Trump. This evil band supposedly includes Democratic politicians, Hollywood celebrities, business tycoons, and other notables. Those who believe this bunk see Trump as a hero who is secretly battling this conspiracy in a titanic, behind-the-scenes struggle. It is pure nuttery. Worse than that, QAnon has sparked multiple acts of violence.

Yet Patel repeatedly has hailed QAnoners and promoted this conspiracy theory. In early 2022, when he sat on the board of Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, Patel amplified an account called @Q that pushed out QAnon messaging. As Media Matters reported: “Patel’s catering to the QAnon community has also gone beyond the @Q account. In July, he posted an image featuring a flaming Q on Truth Social and starting in at least April, he went on numerous QAnon-supporting shows to promote Truth Social—urging viewers to join the platform, praising hosts for being on the platform, and promising to promote the hosts there.” On one show, Patel declared, “Whether it’s the Qs of the world, who I agree with some of what he does and I disagree with some of what he does, if it allows people to gather and focus on the truth and the facts, I’m all for it.” 

Roll Call -  Donald Trump announced his intention to cut short the term of FBI Director Christopher Wray and select Kash Patel to lead an agency the president-elect often criticized on the campaign trail...

Patel is likely to receive scrutiny during his confirmation process for past comments, such as plans to “come after” members of the media.  “We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We’re going to come after you, whether it’s criminally or civilly. We’ll figure that out. But yeah, we’re putting you all on notice,” Patel said last year on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast.

Several GOP senators praised the pick, including Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, who’s likely to be chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the new year.