Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) reiterated his disapproval of President-elect Donald Trump‘s nomination for head of the FBI, Kash Patel, saying the pick is “an easy one” and should not be confirmed by the Senate.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, Schiff pointed to the New Orleans terrorist attack on New Year’s Eve and the Jan. 6 riot in 2021 as evidence that Patel is unqualified for the high-level post since his “top priority [is] political vendettas,” not going after crime and terrorism more generally.
“Well, first of all, Kash Patel should not be confirmed. And I think the terrorist attack in New Orleans … just underscores again the importance of having someone directing the FBI that has experience, that has judgment, that has character, that will prioritize defending the country against the violence we saw in New Orleans or the violence we saw on Jan. 6,” he said.
Schiff added that Patel’s “deep state conspiracy thinking” makes him unqualified for FBI director.
“So, Kash Patel is an easy one — he should not be confirmed,” he said.
While expressing fierce disapproval of Patel, Schiff, a noted Trump critic, seemed open to the president-elect’s other nominees, particularly Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) for secretary of state.
“The others, look, Marco Rubio, I think [is] well qualified. Several of the other nominees, again, we should follow that rigorous process that the majority leader has laid out,” Schiff said.
This is not the first time Schiff has criticized Patel and said he is unqualified. In mid-December, Schiff said that Patel is not “loyal to the rule of law.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) also commented on the Patel nomination on Sunday, offering some praise while stopping short of an endorsement.
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“I think that he understands what his mission would be if he is successful in getting confirmed to that position at the FBI,” he said. “The FBI is an agency that I think is in need of reform and needs a good makeover, so to speak, and probably a good amount of house cleaning when it comes to the perception the American people have with it.”
Patel is one of Trump’s most controversial nominees. A fierce Trump loyalist, he has pledged to use his position to root out perceived corruption and retaliate against perceived enemies. Democrats and some Republicans have voiced alarm about some of his rhetoric, especially that which was outlined in his recent book.
