Kash Patel sworn in at White House as new FBI director, calls it the ‘greatest honour’

Kash Patel sworn in as FBI director amid controversy, vows to overhaul agency and prioritize national security.

Kash Patel was sworn in on Friday (February 21, 2025) as the FBI director, calling the opportunity to lead the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency the “greatest honour” of his life.

Mr. Patel was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday by a 51-49 margin, with two Republican lawmakers, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, breaking party ranks and voting against him.

“I think he’ll go down as the best ever at that position,” President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday ahead of the White House swearing-in, which was conducted by Attorney General Pam Bondi and attended by Republican supporters in Congress, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Mr. Trump added that the ”agents love this guy."

Mr. Patel will inherit an FBI gripped by turmoil as the Justice Department over the past month has forced out a group of senior bureau officials and made a highly unusual demand for the names of thousands of agents who participated in investigations related to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Democrats had sounded the alarm about the appointment, saying they fear Mr. Patel will operate as a loyalist for Mr. Trump and abuse the FBI's law enforcement powers to go after the president's adversaries. They've cited past comments such as his suggestion before he was nominated that he would “come after” anti-Trump “conspirators” in the government and media.

Mr. Patel sought to assuage those concerns at his confirmation hearing last month, saying he intended to follow the Constitution and had no interest in pursuing retribution, though he also said at his swearing-in Friday that reporters had written “fake, malicious, slanderous and defamatory” stories about him.