The US Senate voted this Thursday to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director, placing a loyalist of President Donald Trump at the head of the country's top law enforcement agency.
The nomination faced intense scrutiny from Democrats on Capitol Hill, who have warned that Patel is ready to use the position to seek retribution against Trump's perceived political enemies.
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Patel said there would be “no politicization” at the FBI and “no punitive action” and accused Democrats of cherry-picking old comments. “Sources of information are often misleading,” Patel said at one point.
The role of FBI director is supposed to be a 10-year term to insulate the position from politics. But after regaining the White House, Trump made it clear that he wanted then-FBI chief Chris Wray out, leading Wray to resign and paving the way for Patel's confirmation.