U.S. Senator Katie Britt: Kash Patel Will Get the FBI Back on Track, Help Make America Safe Again

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today questioned Kash Patel, President Trump’s nominee for Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Senator Britt began by outlining FBI Director nominee Patel’s statements over the course of the hearing, specifically highlighting his commitment to making America safe and secure again. 

BRITT: “I have been diligently listening over the last few hours, and what I have heard you say is this. That your duty is to protect American citizens, that you will work to uphold the Constitution. I have heard you say you’re going to get back to making sure you focus on violent crime . . . You said you were going to have the backs, as you always have, of law enforcement . . . You said you know and you will not allow there to be victims of government overreach because it has happened to you.

BRITT: “You talked about having no intention of going backwards. You have talked about making sure that we actually address drug overdoses. You talked about your work with 1.3 million active duty service members, making sure they had resources they needed. You’ve talked about de-weaponizing and making sure that we don’t politicize the department. You said America is the greatest nation . . .”

BRITT: “You have said that there will be a singular form of justice once again. And most importantly, I think in addition to all of this is I have really not gotten to hear you talk about the FBI . . . You mentioned in the seven minutes that it takes one of these senators to ask you questions that, unfortunately, there are, I believe you said, three rapes, two overdoses, one murder.”

Senator Britt continued by emphasizing the FBI’s importance to national security and keeping ordinary Americans safe and secure in their communities. Just yesterday, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law. As Senator Britt has noted, this is just the first step in securing our border and making America safe again.

BRITT: “Yesterday we signed the Laken Riley Act into law . . . And when we look at what’s happening across our country with the surge of illegal migrants that have come in, when we look at fentanyl overdoses being the leading cause of death between the ages of 18 and 45, I’ve heard you say you want to tackle that.”

BRITT: “When we look at parents like Laken Riley’s mother yesterday as she talked about her heartbreaking loss, that should have never happened. Rachel Morin’s family there, Sarah Root’s family there, Jocelyn Nungaray’s family there – they deserve an FBI that is focused on finding these criminals and getting them out of here . . . You’ve talked about cleaning up America, making it safe and secure for its people. Please tell the American people your plans.”

PATEL: “Thank you, Senator, I really appreciate it. And the two themes that if I’m confirmed that I have for the FBI are really just going back to keeping it simple. One, let good cops be cops . . and put handcuffs on the bad guys, and put child molesters in prison, and put murderers in prison, and make sure CCP fentanyl doesn’t kill another one of your constituents. That’s track one. Track two: to restore the trust in the FBI . . .”

PATEL: “What the FBI must do, while tackling violent crime and protecting Americans’ national security and our sovereignty, is work with Congress, Republicans and Democrats, to expose any government corruption, provide government accountability through transparency, and get you all the documents that you are the custodians of. The FBI reports to Congress.”

In her second line of questioning, Senator Britt reiterated FBI Director nominee Patel’s commitment to the Senator in their recent meeting:

BRITT: “Redstone Arsenal and the FBI assets and the men and women that will report to you when confirmed are there in Huntsville, Alabama. So, I really want you to come and visit with me the state-of-the-art facilities that we have there. They’re pretty incredible . . . we have the Ballistics Research Facility, the Hazardous Device School, the Terrorist Explosive Device Analytics Center . . . we have the sprawling North and South Campus of the FBI.”

BRITT: “The workforce occupying these facilities, they were moved from D.C. to Huntsville. They are working diligently each and every day to make sure that men and women in uniform are the best trained, equipped, and ready that there is. And I would love a commitment from you just to come with me to visit those facilities—see what those men and women are doing, what they’re learning, and all of the training that’s right there at their fingertips.”

PATEL: “Senator, you have that commitment. And this is a great example, real quick, of the FBI’s capabilities and infrastructure systems around the country that already exist to the tune of billions. And not only is it, I believe, a 38,000-acre sprawling campus . . . but 4,000 seats remain open. So, let’s go to work. I’ll come to Alabama. Let’s fill those seats.”

A video of Senator Britt’s full line of questioning can be viewed here.

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