Political Quotes

On the recordApril 20, 2026
when Kash Patel was confirmed as head of the FBI, I said that he had neither the experience, the judgment, nor the temperament for the job. Fourteen months later, Director Patel has confirmed my worst fears about his integrity and competency. Director Patel has spent his tenure at the FBI weaponizing the world's preeminent investigative Agency to serve the political interests of one person--Donald Trump. Patel has fired dozens of career law enforcement agents simply because they were assigned to work on investigations related to President Trump's and his allies' misconduct. These firings have deprived the FBI of decades of experience at a time when our Nation is facing growing threats not only at home but overseas. Director Patel has timed these politicized purges to shield himself from allegations of misconduct. After his embarrassing actions at the Olympics and whistleblower disclosures to my office describing how his misuse of FBI aircraft has negatively impacted high-profile criminal investigations, Director Patel tried to save face by firing even more people at the FBI who worked on President Trump's mishandling of classified documents. Several of the fired agents at the FBI were part of a global counterintelligence squad whose responsibilities included investigating espionage and cyber threats from Iran.
Said by
Dick Durbin
Democratic · Illinois

Editor's note · Context

Criticizing FBI Director Kash Patel's actions and integrity during a speech.

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