Every Kash Patel FBI Testimony Since Confirmation

Since his February 2025 confirmation, Kash Patel’s congressional testimony as FBI director has moved through confirmation, budget, oversight, and intelligence hearings, and it has been defined by contradictory statements on FBI funding, shouting matches with Democratic senators and House members, deflections on the Jeffrey Epstein files, defenses of mass personnel firings, and a sworn admission that the bureau buys Americans’ location data from private data brokers.

The Confirmation Hearing

Patel testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 30, 2025, in a hearing that ran more than five hours.¹ Democrats questioned him about a 2023 book that listed former officials he described as part of the “deep state,” his past characterization of some January 6 rioters as “political prisoners,” and his public calls for removing anti-Trump figures from government and media. Patel called the “enemies list” framing a “total mischaracterization” and said he would not launch investigations for political purposes or pursue the president’s adversaries. Asked directly whether Trump lost the 2020 election, he would say only that Joe Biden had been sworn in.

He submitted 147 pages of written responses to senators’ questions along with thousands of pages of records and media appearances.² The Senate minority requested a second hearing, which Chairman Chuck Grassley rejected as “delay tactics.” The Senate confirmed him on February 20, 2025, by a vote of 51 to 49.³

A separate matter followed Patel into every subsequent hearing: his own grand jury testimony in the classified documents investigation into Donald Trump. Patel had appeared before a federal grand jury in Washington on October 13 and November 3, 2022, initially invoking the Fifth Amendment before Judge Beryl A. Howell granted him immunity to compel his testimony.⁴ During the confirmation hearing, he incorrectly claimed a transcript was available to Congress. At his September 2025 oversight hearing, he said the transcript was “sealed by the Department of Justice” and that he had been working to release it publicly. Both Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi committed under oath to give Senator Sheldon Whitehouse a copy.⁵ As of late 2025, no transcript had been released.

The May 2025 Budget Hearings

Patel testified on back-to-back days in May 2025 about the FBI’s fiscal year 2026 budget, and his statements on the two days did not line up. On May 7, before House appropriators, he told lawmakers he disagreed with the president’s proposal to cut the FBI budget by more than half a billion dollars, said the bureau had actually requested an increase from the Office of Management and Budget, and said the agency could not fulfill its mission at the proposed level.⁶

The next day, before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee, the budget he presented reflected a reduction of more than $500 million annually. Senators pressed him on the discrepancy. Patty Murray pushed him on the reversal, and Patel acknowledged he had come to the hearing without a prepared budget and could not say when one would be available.⁷ Subcommittee chair Jerry Moran and ranking member Chris Van Hollen questioned whether the bureau could manage a planned relocation from its D.C. headquarters on a budget roughly five percent lower than the current one. Other topics included anti-fentanyl efforts, security clearances for Department of Government Efficiency workers, and due process concerns.

The September 2025 Oversight Hearings

Patel’s most consequential appearances came on September 16 and 17, 2025, before the Senate Judiciary Committee and then the House Judiciary Committee.⁸ Both hearings were titled “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation” and covered the same core topics: the Charlie Kirk investigation, the Epstein files, personnel purges, and accusations of politicization.

The Charlie Kirk Investigation

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University. Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from Utah, was charged with aggravated murder after DNA evidence linked him to the weapon and the crime scene, allegedly confessed in text messages and a handwritten note found under his keyboard, and faces a death penalty case.⁹

Patel had posted on social media that a “subject” was in custody before an arrest had actually been made, a claim he later retracted. Senator Dick Durbin accused him of being “so anxious to take credit” that he violated the principle of letting professionals do their jobs.¹⁰ Patel said he could have been “more careful in my verbiage” but denied the posts were a mistake.¹¹ Reports also surfaced about a profanity-laced call in which he berated agents for not providing timely updates during the manhunt.

The Epstein Files

Before becoming director, Patel had publicly called for full release of documents related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. In testimony, he deflected blame for the investigation’s shortcomings to what he called the “original sin” of the 2006 non-prosecution agreement negotiated by former U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta.¹² He said the FBI had released “all credible information” it was legally permitted to disclose and cited court-mandated protective orders as the barrier to further release.

Democrats accused Patel of orchestrating a “giant cover-up,” particularly regarding documents involving Trump’s connection to Epstein. Representatives Jamie Raskin and Pramila Jayapal led that charge in the House hearing. Patel agreed to investigate a letter bearing Trump’s signature found in an Epstein “birthday book” that Trump claimed was a forgery, but he was noncommittal about personally meeting with Epstein’s survivors. The House Judiciary Committee voted 20-19 along party lines to block a Democratic motion to subpoena JPMorgan Chase and three other banks for records on $1.5 billion in suspicious transactions linked to Epstein. Additional Democratic motions to subpoena bank CEOs, Treasury Secretary Bessent, the FBI Deputy Director, and the Director of Prisons were also rejected.¹³

Personnel Firings and Retribution Claims

Senate Democrats focused on Patel’s August 2025 firing of five senior FBI officials. Senator Richard Blumenthal told Patel directly, “I’m not going to mince words: You lied to us,” referring to Patel’s confirmation-hearing promise that no employee would be fired for political retribution.¹⁰ Senator Adam Schiff asked whether agents had been fired for their work on January 6 or other Trump-related investigations. Patel denied the terminations were based on “case assignments alone” and said every decision was “based on the evidence that I have.”¹⁴

He also defended his use of polygraph tests for agents, which had reportedly been used to identify media leaks and determine whether agents spoke negatively about him. He described his reforms as “historic,” said the FBI would “only bring cases that are based in fact and law,” and warned that “anyone that does otherwise will not be employed at the FBI.”¹⁵ He denied keeping an enemies list and said morale at the bureau “has never been higher.”

Confrontations With Lawmakers

Both September hearings were marked by shouting matches. In the Senate, Patel called Adam Schiff “the biggest fraud to ever sit in the United States Senate,” “a political buffoon at best,” and “a disgrace to this institution.”¹⁴ He and Senator Cory Booker had a heated exchange in which Booker warned Patel, “you’re not going to be around long,” and Patel called Booker “an embarrassment,” prompting Grassley to bang his gavel.

In the House the following day, Patel had a shouting match with Representative Pramila Jayapal after she accused him of disparaging Epstein’s survivors; he retorted, “don’t lie about me.” He and Representative Eric Swalwell traded insults, with Patel calling Swalwell’s career a “disgrace.” Chairman Jim Jordan praised Patel’s leadership, and Senator Ted Cruz characterized Democratic questioning in the Senate as “theater” and accused Democrats of “berating” the director for “successfully doing his job.”¹¹

The March 2026 Worldwide Threats Hearing

On March 18, 2026, Patel appeared with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe before the Senate Intelligence Committee for its annual worldwide threats hearing.¹⁶ The hearing covered the U.S. conflict with Iran, including reports that outdated targeting data may have contributed to a missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that reportedly killed more than 165 people, and the resignation of National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent, who said he could not support the war.¹⁷

Senators also examined the FBI’s capacity to prevent domestic terror attacks following a synagogue attack in Michigan, a classroom shooting at Old Dominion University in Virginia, and an attempted bombing at the New York City mayoral mansion. Senator Mark Warner questioned Gabbard about her presence at the FBI’s January 2026 search of a Fulton County, Georgia election hub, calling it an attempt to “misuse her national security powers to interfere in domestic politics.”

The most substantive disclosure came when Senator Ron Wyden pressed Patel on the FBI’s purchase of Americans’ location data from private data brokers. Patel admitted under oath that the FBI engages in the practice, describing it as the purchase of “commercially available information that’s consistent with the constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.” Wyden called the practice an “end run around the fourth amendment,” noting that law enforcement needs a warrant to obtain location data directly from telecommunications companies but can bypass that requirement by buying similar data from brokers.¹⁸

The May 2026 Budget Hearing and Personal Conduct Allegations

Patel’s May 12, 2026 appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee, on the fiscal year 2027 requests for the FBI, ATF, and DEA, was dominated by questions about his personal conduct following reporting by The Atlantic alleging excessive drinking and unexplained absences from duty.¹⁹

Senator Chris Van Hollen led the questioning. He cited allegations that Patel had been so incapacitated on at least one occasion that staff had to force entry into his home, challenged Patel to take a military-style drinking test, questioned whether he had forced subordinates to undergo polygraph examinations to hunt for leaks about himself, and concluded, “You are a disgrace, Mr. Director.”²⁰ Patel called the allegations “unequivocally, categorically false” and accused Van Hollen of drinking on the taxpayer’s dime during an April 2025 visit to El Salvador: “The only person that was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gang-banging rapist was you.” Van Hollen said the bar tab was for 50 people and was not publicly funded.

Senator Patty Murray raised Patel’s attendance at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, where he was filmed celebrating with the U.S. hockey team. Murray told him, “If you want to pass out liquor or pop bottles in a locker room, stick to podcasting. Leave law and order to people who really do care about justice and appearances.” Patel defended the trip as a working visit, citing the arrest and deportation of a cybercriminal accused of stealing COVID-19 vaccine research for the Chinese Communist Party.

On April 20, 2026, before the hearing, Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging the reporting was part of a pattern to “damage Director Patel’s reputation and force him from office.”²¹ The Atlantic said it would “vigorously defend” itself against the “meritless lawsuit.”²²

Recurring Themes Across the Hearings

Agent Reassignments and Immigration Enforcement

Democrats questioned Patel across multiple hearings about shifting FBI agents from domestic terrorism and counterintelligence work to immigration enforcement. He justified the reassignments as a response to an “explosion of crime” and said agents were being moved out of Washington and into field offices, which he said reduced crime and saved taxpayer money.¹³ At the May 2026 hearing, he testified that no agents had been permanently reassigned to work solely on immigration operations.

Counterintelligence Firings

In early March 2026, Patel terminated roughly a dozen FBI employees over two days, many assigned to the CI-12 squad handling global counterintelligence cases involving Iranian threats. One of those fired was a section chief in counterintelligence who handled espionage threats. The firings occurred after Patel learned that the FBI, under Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations, had subpoenaed phone records belonging to him and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.²³ Van Hollen raised these firings during the May 2026 hearing as part of broader concerns about a loss of national security expertise at the bureau.

The Fulton County Election Investigation

Patel’s May 2026 testimony also touched on the FBI’s January 28, 2026 seizure of roughly 600 boxes of 2020 election ballots from Fulton County, Georgia, authorized by a court order from a U.S. magistrate judge.²⁴ The operation was reportedly personally overseen by DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who arranged for Trump to speak with FBI agents via cellphone afterward.²⁵ In April 2026, the FBI issued subpoenas seeking personal information of thousands of Georgia election workers, including names, home addresses, and phone numbers. A federal judge ordered the DOJ to submit requested materials for private judicial review before any disclosure, and two Trump-appointed federal judges questioned whether the DOJ’s approach constituted a “fishing expedition.”²⁶ As of June 2026, the investigation had produced no public evidence of wrongdoing and no arrests, despite Patel suggesting in April 2026 that election-related arrests were imminent.

1
PBS NewsHour. Kash Patel Testifies at Senate Confirmation Hearing for FBI Director
2
U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Grassley: The Senate Judiciary Committee Is Moving Forward With Kash Patel’s Nomination
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United States Senate. Roll Call Vote on Nomination of Kashyap Patel
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The New York Times. Justice Department Offers Kash Patel Immunity to Testify
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U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Whitehouse). Patel Grand Jury Testimony Records
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U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. FBI Director Shows Up to Budget Hearing With No Timeline for Budget
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C-SPAN. FBI Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request
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FBI. FBI Speeches and Testimony
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CNN. Tyler Robinson Charlie Kirk Court Appearance
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PBS NewsHour. Takeaways From Kash Patel’s Tense Oversight Hearing
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CNN. Takeaways From FBI Director Kash Patel’s Senate Hearing
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CNN. Kash Patel Hearing FBI Director
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C-SPAN. FBI Director Kash Patel Testifies at House Oversight Hearing
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The Hill. Kash Patel Senators Hearing Takeaways
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NBC News. Kash Patel Congress Hearing Charlie Kirk Assassination FBI
16
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Open Hearing: Worldwide Threats
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PBS NewsHour. Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Patel Testify on Worldwide Threats
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The Guardian. Kash Patel FBI Location Data
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CNN. Patel Van Hollen Reports of Behavior Hill Testimony
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The New York Times. Kash Patel Hearing FBI Drinking
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Politico. Kash Patel Defamation Lawsuit The Atlantic
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BBC News. FBI Director Kash Patel Sues The Atlantic
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CBS News. FBI Agents Patel Fired Counterintelligence Including Iran
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Georgia Recorder. FBI Raids Fulton County Elections Warehouse Seeking 2020 Ballots
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Votebeat. FBI Investigation 2020 Election Trump Milwaukee Fulton Maricopa
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution. FBI’s Fulton County 2020 Investigation Fails to Deliver So Far