WASHINGTON (CN) — Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin on Tuesday offered a harsh rebuke of Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, citing what he said was the former Pentagon official’s lack of experience and a “long road” of political grievances.
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat met with Patel ahead of what is sure to be a contentious confirmation hearing. And though the Illinois lawmaker was already skeptical of the nominee, he told reporters during an intimate briefing with reporters on Capitol Hill that his face time with Patel did little to move the needle.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that Kash Patel has neither the experience, the judgment or the temperament to serve as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Durbin said.
In preparation for his meeting with the nominee, Durbin told reporters that he read Patel’s 2023 book “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth and the Battle for our Democracy” cover to cover.
Patel’s book includes an infamous list of 60 people he calls members of the “Executive Branch Deep State,” which some have said amounts to a list of enemies he could prosecute as FBI director. On the list, which appears in the book’s second appendix, is former defense secretary Lloyd Austin, former FBI director Christopher Wray and former President Joe Biden.
Durbin said Tuesday that reading Patel’s book revealed what he framed as a “long road” of political experiences “pockmarked with grievances.”
“People have dissed him too many times, and he’s getting even with them,” the lawmaker said.
During his meeting with Patel, Durbin said he tried to press the nominee on some of the statements he made in his book — such as a passage on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot in which he refers to “cowards in uniform.” The Illinois Democrat said that Patel would not tell him whether he was referring to officers of the U.S. Capitol Police, National Guard members or other law enforcement.
And Patel also demurred on questions about Trump’s move Monday to pardon people convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers during the riot.
“I just don’t think that you can make an excuse for what the president did yesterday and expect law enforcement to stand behind you,” Durbin said.
If confirmed, Patel could potentially serve as head of the FBI alongside Pam Bondi, Trump’s nominee for attorney general. During her confirmation hearing last week, the Florida attorney general faced tough questions from Durbin and other Democrats about her relationship with the would-be FBI director.
Bondi largely ducked questions about Patel, telling lawmakers at the time that she believed “Kash is the right person at this time for this job.”
But the attorney general nominee’s relationship to Patel did not come up during his meeting with Durbin, the Illinois Democrat told Courthouse News Tuesday.
“I wish I had brought it up,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t, because she was an unequivocal supporter of his candidacy.”
Durbin said Bondi and Patel are “two different people” when it comes to experience, pointing out that the attorney general nominee has an “impressive” record as Florida’s top prosecutor — and added that while there are questions about her taking orders from Trump, things were different for Patel.
The lawmaker also pushed back on questions from Courthouse News about whether Bondi, if confirmed, should serve as a check on malfeasance from Patel’s FBI.
“The FBI is supposed to be an ally of the Department of Justice, not the student to be disciplined when necessary,” Durbin said. “I think it’s too much to expect her to do her job and also keep an eye on his job.”
Meanwhile, the top Judiciary Committee Democrat advised his Republican colleagues to read Patel’s book as they weigh whether to back his nomination.
“Read what he says about his own life and his own background,” Durbin told reporters. “I mean, it’s just a trail of grievances.”
Though Patel’s nomination hearing before the Judiciary Committee has yet to be formalized, the lawmaker said Tuesday that it could take place as soon as next week — on Jan. 29, the same day the Senate’s legal affairs panel is scheduled to vote to advance Bondi’s attorney general nomination to the full chamber.
Ahead of his hearing, Democrats have demanded that the Justice Department, Pentagon and Office of the Director of National Intelligence turn over information related to what they have called “credible allegations” that Patel interfered with then-President-elect Biden’s transition team in 2020 and that he was enlisted to help former Justice Department officials with efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Patel, a former federal prosecutor, was previously a senior adviser to acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell under the first Trump administration. Before that, he was chief of staff to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.
If confirmed, he would replace Wray, who stepped down from his role ahead of Trump’s Monday inauguration.