Indian-origin Kashyap Pramod Vinod Patel, better known as Kash Patel, was sworn in as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director on Friday after being confirmed by the Senate on Thursday by a 51-49 margin.
"I think he'll go down as the best ever at that position," President Donald Trump told reporters Friday ahead of the White House swearing-in on Friday, which was conducted by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Trump sympathizer Patel earlier called the opportunity to lead the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency the "greatest honour" of his life.
Back in November 2024, he was selected to replace Christopher Wray. Trump's 2017 pick Wray served for more than seven years. However, reports say that he repeatedly disappointed the president and was seen by him as insufficiently loyal. He resigned before Trump took office.
On Thursday, Patel spoke of his desire to implement major changes at the FBI, including a reduced footprint in Washington and a renewed emphasis on the bureau's traditional crime-fighting duties. He said Friday that the FBI's "national security mission" was equally as important as its efforts to fight violent crime and drug overdoses.
"Anyone that wishes to do harm to our way of life and our citizens, here and abroad, will face the full wrath of the DOJ and FBI," Patel said. "If you seek to hide in any corner of this country or planet, we will put on the world's largest manhunt and we will find you and we will decide your end-state."
Who is Kash Patel?
Indian-origin Kash Patel was once a federal defender and Justice Department counterterrorism prosecutor, had eyes for his role at the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a long time. The Trump loyalist was narrowly voted as the Director of the FBI by the Senate on Thursday.
Even though he was born and raised in the US, Patel has earlier spoken about the influence of his Indian heritage in his life and how it shaped his career.
His position atop the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency came after doubts from Democrats about his qualifications and concerns that he would do Donald Trump's bidding and go after the Republican president's adversaries.
Kash Patel was born in the United States itself to Gujarati parents in 1980.
He graduated from the University of Richmond and later got his law degree from Pace University School of Law.
Patel started his career as a lawyer, working as a public defender. He handled a variety of cases, including murder, drug trafficking, and complicated financial crimes, in both state and federal courts.
Patel is a former federal defender and Justice Department counterterrorism prosecutor. Patel served as deputy assistant to the President and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council (NSC).
The US Defence Department reportedly stated that during his tenure at NSC, Patel was responsible for missions working towards "eliminating ISIS and Al-Qa’ida leadership such as al-Baghdadi and Qasem al-Rimi, and the safe repatriation of numerous American hostages."
