New Delhi: When Donald Trump first introduced Kash Pramod Patel to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he referred to him as his “intel guy.” More than four years later, Patel, a 44-year-old Indian American Trump loyalist, has been named as the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
A former federal prosecutor and public defender, Patel had been considered for several roles in the incoming administration before Trump ultimately named him as the next FBI director. This decision implies that the current director, Christopher Wray – appointed by Trump and serving a 10-year term – will need to either resign or be dismissed, as his tenure was set to last until 2027.
The uniquely long term of office for an FBI director visibly underscores the principle that the agency was meant to rise above any president or political party in power. But, that is not really in line with the vision of Trump, who needs personal loyalty.
Since the announcement, US media has published numerous profiles on Patel, highlighting his repeated calls for retribution, a stance echoing Trump’s rhetoric, targeting not only the government but also the media.
Patel’s 2023 book, Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy, outlines his vision, including proposals to streamline the dismissal of government employees who “subvert” the president’s agenda and relocate the FBI headquarters from Washington, D.C.
Throughout the book, Patel occasionally refers to his background, describing his parents as “a couple of working-class immigrants from India.” He grew up in a household shared with his parents, siblings, and the families of his father’s eight brothers and sisters.
An October profile of Patel in New York Times noted that while he liked to “say that he is from Queens, just like Mr. Trump, but he hails from the affluent village of Garden City on Long Island”.
In his memoir, Patel writes of a “very deep connection with India,” nurtured by his parents’ encouragement to “focus on my studies and be mindful of religion and my heritage.”
Patel, who said he was raised a Hindu, recalls celebrating Diwali, Navratri, and visiting temples regularly. He also remembers attending Indian weddings, describing them as “unlike any other party I had been to before – or since.”
Some of his fondest memories, he shares, involved sneaking away with his father to “get our fix,” as his mother only prepared vegetarian meals at home.
“Every time we wanted some butter chicken, we’d head out to Jackson Heights in Queens, over to Little India on 72nd Street. I can still remember all the smells and flavours and how wonderful it was to spend time with my dad. Of course, we weren’t really that sneaky. My mum knew exactly what we were doing and gave us a little wink and nod. Going out for butter chicken became a weekly ritual for me and my dad,” Patel wrote.
‘Access to the president’
The former defence lawyer caught Trump’s attention in 2018 while working as a staff member for the House Intelligence Committee chair. He apparently led the drafting of the so-called ‘Nunes Memo,’ which alleged FBI abuses during its investigation into Russia’s purported interference in the 2016 election that secured Trump’s first term.
After Nunes lost the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee when Republicans lost control of the House in 2019, he sought a role in the White House. Trump instructed that he be brought into the National Security Council (NSC).
However, according to Patel, “Trump’s national security advisor at the time, John Bolton, was an arrogant control freak who resisted following the orders of the president he served if it didn’t suit his interests.”
Following months of delay, Patel was offered a position in the NSC’s international organisations division, which he accepted, recognising it as merely a placeholder job. “Even more important than the title or a plumb post at the NSC, I earned something else that White House staffers covet: access to the president,” Patel wrote.
Later that year, Patel’s name surfaced in the media and during Trump’s impeachment proceedings when senior NSC director Fiona Hill alleged that he was providing materials on Ukraine to Trump, despite having no such responsibilities. Patel strongly denied the claim in his book, stating, “During my entire time in the White House, I never even spoke with the President about Ukraine”.
In February 2020, he was promoted to his “dream job” as senior NSC director for counter-terrorism, during which he led a “purge of intelligence agency officials”, as per NY Times, along with acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell. He was also, according to his own version, following Trump’s orders to declassify all documents related to ‘Russia Gate’ and emails of Hillary Clinton.
Gujarat and ‘India’s Trump’
In the same month, he was taken on Trump’s first visit to India “because I was one of the few senior administration officials of Indian heritage”. “I speak Gujarati, the dialect used in the region of India where the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, is from (as is my own family),” wrote Patel in the book.
For the Namaste Trump rally at Ahmedabad, Patel claimed to have worked with the presidential speechwriters to “ensure the remarks were full of cultural references that would resonate with the Indian people”.
He had made plans to get his parents a seat at the stadium, but they were going to miss it as all the clearances were not there. However, Patel said that Trump’s daughter, Ivanka pulled strings from Air Force One on way to India. “To this day I don’t know what she said. But I do know that when we arrived at the stadium, my parents weren’t there. Then, partway through the speech, they walked down the aisle and took the seats we set aside for them right in the front row.”
The following day in New Delhi, Patel found himself part of the large delegation accompanying President Trump for formal talks with Prime Minister Modi. Patel recalled that as they entered the room, Trump turned to him and shouted, “Kash, have you met my friend Narendra?”
Soon, Patel was engaged in conversation with Modi, whom he described as “India’s Trump,” speaking in “our native dialect.” The Indian prime minister asked about Patel’s family and background, which he had clearly been briefed on prior to their arrival.
As the two leaders introduced their delegations, Trump gestured toward Patel and quipped, “You don’t want to know what he does. He’s my intel guy.”
Equations with Milley
A few months later, Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. However, Patel landed a more prestigious role as Chief of Staff to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.
In The Divider, a book by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, Patel reportedly stunned General Mark A. Milley, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with an unusual signed note from Trump. The note ordered the withdrawal of all American troops from Afghanistan by January 15, 2021 – just days before Joe Biden’s inauguration. The directive was quickly rescinded.
The book also recounts a December 2020 incident where CIA Director Gina Haspel was informed by Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that Patel would replace her deputy. Haspel threatened to resign, forcing the White House to back down.
General Milley, whom Patel openly criticised in his memoir, later confronted him at an event, yelling, “Hey Kash, which one? Which one are you going to take? CIA or FBI? Kash? Which one is it?”
In early 2021, proposed appointing Patel as the FBI’s deputy director. However, Attorney General William P. Barr reportedly dismissed the idea, saying Patel would take the role “over my dead body”, according to The Atlantic.
In recent years, Patel has remained closely aligned with Trump, defending him against accusations of mishandling classified files at his Florida resort. He has marketed merchandise under the brand “K$h,” created promotional content on Truth Social for a Christian payment processor, and even advocated for pills claiming to “reverse” COVID vaccine effects. Alongside publishing a memoir, he authored a children’s book titled The Plot Against the King, in which the villain was named Hillary.
Kash Patel apparently runs a “America First” clothing line.
“Tired of seeing your money go overseas?” reads a product page. “Support your fellow Americans by purchasing our t-shirt.”
Shirt appears to be made on Next Level blanks … which are made in Central America and Haiti. pic.twitter.com/fnwMvEdl7y
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) December 3, 2024
‘Dangerous’ and ‘unknown’
Following Trump’s announcement, Patel has gained support from some Republican lawmakers, with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson endorsing his nomination.
Senator Ted Cruz called Patel a “strong nominee”, while Senator Bill Hagerty said that he was the “type of change that we need to see in the FBI”. But, another Republican Senator, Mike Rounds that he was not surprised that Trump was choosing people who were loyalists, adding FBI director Wray as a “very good man”.
The Senate, where Republicans will hold the majority of 53-47 next year, would have to confirm Patel’s appointment. Recently, former lawmaker Matt Gaetz had to withdraw his name for consideration as Attorney General as some Republican senators were concerned over complaints of sexual misconduct.
Politico reported that among the GOP senators who had been critical of Gaetz, there was no immediate dismissal of Patel.
“I don’t know Kash Patel,” Senator Susan Collins said, adding “I had heard his name, but I don’t know his background, and I’m going to have to do a lot of work before reaching a decision on him”. She also praised Wray as FBI director.
Nevertheless, there has also been a lot of criticism pointing at Patel lacks all qualifications to lead an agency like the FBI, with many terming it as downright “dangerous”.
John Bolton compared him to Joseph Stalin’s secret police, while another former US government official described Patel as “by far the most dangerous pick” Trump has made. “There is no ‘there’ to him,” the official told CBS News. “He’ll literally do anything.”
According to Michael Sozan of Center for American Progress, Patel’s nomination was even worse than Matt Gaetz. “His is all about loyalty, and this is all about another word that many of us will start using more and more: kakistocracy. That means government by the absolute least competent to run government, the most ill-qualified. That is Kash Patel,” he told The New Republic.
