At today's Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) questioned FBI Director Kash Patel about tweeting the photo of the arrest of a Wisconsin judge.
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00:00Capito, we're privileged to have the ranking member, the vice chair of the full committee with us today.
00:05Senator Murray, you are recognized.
00:06Thank you very much, Chair Moran.
00:08It's good to work with you and ranking member Van Hollen in this new position.
00:12So I look forward to both of you and the work on this committee.
00:15You know, the FBI does really crucial work to keep our nation safe,
00:20whether it's stopping criminal organizations or domestic terrorists,
00:24protects our nation's secrets, it prevents cyber attacks,
00:27keeps our children safe from harm and a lot more.
00:30So this is really sober work with extremely high stakes.
00:34And I'm concerned that instead of focusing on the incredibly important mandate
00:39to keep Americans safe and to help impartially enforce our laws under your leadership,
00:44Director Patel, the FBI has been weaponized to go after Americans who disagree with the president.
00:50FBI resources have been diverted away from combating terrorism
00:55to focusing on immigration requests.
00:58And all of this, the diverted missions, the fewer resources, fewer agents,
01:02heightened politicization is happening now under your watch.
01:05And it is, I believe, making Americans less safe.
01:09Now, let me just start with the budget.
01:11As ranking member Van Hollen noted earlier,
01:14this hearing is being held without the FBI's fiscal year 2025 spend plan
01:20and a full budget request for fiscal year 2026.
01:23The spend plan is required by law.
01:26It was due to Congress over a week ago.
01:29We have not yet seen it.
01:31That is really absurd.
01:32The FBI is our nation's leading law enforcement agency,
01:35a budget of $10.7 billion.
01:38It is critical that we understand how you are spending taxpayer dollars.
01:43So, Director Patel, when should we expect this FY25 spend plan for the FBI?
01:50Have you seen it?
01:50Have you reviewed it?
01:51When will we get it?
01:52I'll get you an answer, ma'am.
01:53I don't have a timeline on that.
01:55It was due last week by law.
01:57I understand.
01:59And your answer is you just understand.
02:01You're not going to follow the law?
02:02My answer is that I am following the law,
02:04and I'm working with my interagency partners to do this
02:07and get you the budget that you are required to have.
02:10And you have no timeline?
02:12No.
02:17Hmm.
02:17Well, we also need a full budget request,
02:20not a single paragraph full of wild talking points that we saw
02:23with the skinny budget proposal.
02:25We're now having a budget hearing without a budget request.
02:29So, Director Patel, where is the FY2026 budget request for the FBI?
02:34It's being worked on, ma'am.
02:36Have you reviewed it?
02:37Have you approved it?
02:39Not yet.
02:40When will we get it?
02:42As soon as I can get it from my interagency partners
02:44and get it approved.
02:46Six months from now?
02:48I don't know, ma'am.
02:49I'm not going to make up the timeline.
02:49Well, how do we, as Congress,
02:51do our budget and our work without that request
02:53and without the spend plan?
02:55Well, ma'am, I'm here.
02:56I'm doing the best I can.
02:57I can't make up answers.
02:58I'm going to commit to you to work
02:59on getting you the information you need.
03:01Well, that is insufficient and deeply disturbing.
03:06No response?
03:08I've given my response.
03:10Well, the FBI is already down 1,900 employees since 2023.
03:17It's a direct result of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
03:20And under the Trump administration, FBI agents, analysts, linguists, cyber experts, and scientists
03:26are being asked to do a lot more in order to keep us safe.
03:30Director Patel, we all know that budget cuts will reduce the FBI's ability
03:36to counter threats of terrorism.
03:38And it will hinder its ability to keep pace with firearm background checks
03:42and shutter operations that combat violent crime, drugs, gangs,
03:46and transnational organized crime.
03:48Now, I understand that you told our House colleagues yesterday
03:51that you don't want to reduce the FBI workforce,
03:54meaning that you disagree with what President Trump is proposing?
03:58No, I agree that we can sustain the mission with the proposed budget,
04:02and I agree with the budget.
04:04And as I said yesterday, I believe that what I said was I can do more with more.
04:08And I gave examples of what more we could do if we were given more.
04:12Well, it's different than what you told the House yesterday.
04:14So what are you communicating to the President and the White House about what you need?
04:19And again, we don't have a budget request from you,
04:21so I'm not sure what you're asking us for.
04:24I'm not asking you for anything at this time.
04:26You can operate without a budget?
04:29I never said that.
04:32Well, this is unprecedented.
04:38Okay, well, let me just go to another topic since you're not going to answer that.
04:42The FBI partners with state, local, and tribal law enforcement organizations.
04:46They provide critical intelligence and operational capabilities to combat violent crime and gangs
04:53and terrorist threats, fentanyl trafficking, challenges that our local communities really
04:58can't face alone.
05:00I'm going to give you an example.
05:01A few years ago, the Southeast Washington Safe Streets FBI Task Force worked with our
05:07Benton County and Franklin County Sheriff's Office, multiple Tri-Cities Police Departments,
05:12and the State Corrections Department to carry out one of the largest ever drug seizures in
05:18the region's history.
05:19Now we've got an administration already cutting more than $800 million in assistance in 2025
05:25to local law enforcement organizations while proposing a half-billion-dollar cut for the
05:31FBI.
05:31Director Patel, can you explain to this committee how cutting resources for our local law enforcement
05:37partner agencies, the FBI relies on, to help your bureau keep safe?
05:43How do you expect the FBI and local law enforcement to do more without those significant resources
05:48they need?
05:49The FBI will continue to do what it does, which is work with embedded state and local law
05:54enforcement officers in our Joint Terrorism Task Force, in our Safe Streets Task Force,
05:58in our gang task forces.
05:59Those are our priority.
06:00Those billets have been maintained.
06:02Those billets have not been reduced.
06:04And with my reorientation reprogramming that we've notified coroners to, you will see an
06:08augmentation in the field in every single state in this country.
06:12Well, again, we need to see the numbers and we need to see that budget from you.
06:17Let me ask you about the NICS system.
06:20The FBI is really on the front lines of keeping guns out of the hands of very dangerous criminals.
06:25The NICS serves a really critical role in enhancing national security and public safety by conducting
06:32background checks.
06:33You know this.
06:34They are supported by the vast majority of American people.
06:39And I wanted to ask you this morning, will you commit to continuing to fund and run the
06:44FBI background check system?
06:46Yes.
06:50I want to ask one final question here, Mr. Chairman.
06:53I want to talk again about how the FBI is focusing its resources.
06:58President Trump has turned the Department of Justice into a tool to go after his perceived
07:02enemies, and many of the actions we have now seen at the FBI are alarming.
07:07The FBI has reassigned and pushed out career FBI agents for political reasons.
07:13We have seen fear and intimidation promoted throughout the Bureau, including by polygraphing
07:19your own staff.
07:20We've seen the arrest of a sitting judge in Wisconsin.
07:24And during your confirmation hearing, you committed that there would be no politicization,
07:29no retribution at the FBI under your leadership.
07:31You've reportedly placed FBI employees responsible for investigation January 6th cases on leave.
07:39Is that keeping up your promise of no politicization, no retribution?
07:45It is because that's wildly inaccurate.
07:47Let me tell you what the FBI has done since I got there.
07:498,276 federalists to 820 kilograms seized of fentanyl.
07:54That's enough to kill a quarter million people.
07:56Over 3,000 firearm seized, 350 gang cases, 3,000 cases against violent criminals.
08:02Well, that's not my question.
08:04We know that you...
08:05Well, you asked if I was weaponizing the FBI, and I am not.
08:07I'm giving you the hard, concrete examples of the men and women putting handcuffs on bad
08:11people, doing harm to our children, and innocent Americans.
08:14I do not see weaponization.
08:15But you have placed on leave FBI employees responsible for the investigation of January 6th.
08:21That sounds political to me.
08:23I have not placed anyone on leave who has not violated their ethical obligation or their
08:29oath to the Constitution.
08:30So if they were investigating January 6th, you believe they were violating an ethical obligation?
08:34Nope.
08:35I think the common theme here is you putting words in my mouth, and I'm not going to tolerate
08:38it, nor will the men and women of the FBI.
08:41Well, you did place on leave an analyst responsible for investigating Russia's meddling in the 2016
08:46election.
08:47Is that politicization?
08:49Is that retribution?
08:50No.
08:51Not if she broke the law or the ethical guidelines.
08:53I don't know which case you're talking about, but that's the standard.
08:55And we will hold ourselves inwardly accountable.
08:58And we will not be strayed from our mission because people think we are politicizing the
09:02bureau.
09:03If you want to talk about someone who was attacked by a weaponized bureau, you're looking
09:06at him.
09:07And now he's the director of the FBI, and he's cleaning it up.
09:10Well, I would just say to everyone who's listening that the FBI needs to be focused on its mission
09:15to keep the entire country safe, it should not be weaponized for partisan political gain.
09:21Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
09:22We are.
09:23Senator Kennedy.