Senate Committee Vote On Kash Patel Delayed Amid Dem Opposition

Although he remains on track for confirmation, Democrats delayed the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote on FBI director nominee Kash Patel on Thursday.

As reported by Forbes, Democrats opted to “hold over” the nomination when the committee convened to determine Patel’s approval.

This procedural move pushes the vote back by a week. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the committee’s ranking member, contended that Patel “does not have the temperament for the job.”

During last week’s heated Senate hearing, Patel directly challenged the Democrat narrative surrounding the events leading up to the January 6, 2021, incident at the U.S. Capitol.

Throughout the proceedings, Patel sparred with several Democrat senators. However, his most notable statements came when he responded to a more supportive inquiry from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Patel placed responsibility for the day’s security failures on former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, asserting that they were informed of potential threats.

“Days in advance we were in the Oval Office on an unrelated national security matter with the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and myself, and the President authorized up to 20,000-plus National Guard men and women to secure any security measures necessarily related to the capital. We were moving to the fullest extent of the law before the requisite request came from a local governing authority days ahead of time,” Patel testified.

Sen. Cruz followed up, asking, “What were you doing on that day?”

Patel replied, “On that day, specifically, responding to, preparing to mobilize and employ the National Guard once we got the lawful request from the local governing authority, which was the mayor of DC and the Speaker of the House.”

Cruz then inquired, “While you were Chief of Staff at DOD, how many times did DOD approach Capitol Police and ask if they needed National Guard assistance?”

“I believe those letters are well-documented. Numerous instances, and numerous of those instances, those requests were shut down,” Patel responded.

Cruz pressed further, asking, “Now, am I correct that the Capitol Sergeant at Arms said assistance was unnecessary?”

“That’s correct, Senator,” Patel confirmed.

“Who did the Sergeant at Arms report to?” Cruz continued.

“The Speaker of the House,” Patel answered.

“That would have been Nancy Pelosi at the time. Is that correct?” Cruz asked.

“Yes, Senator,” Patel affirmed.

“Would that also be Chuck Schumer, then the Senate Majority Leader?” Cruz followed up.

“The Sergeant at Arms, yes, Senator, reports up there,” Patel replied.

Despite the rigorous questioning, Patel remained optimistic about his confirmation process.

Leaving the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing late Thursday night, he told reporters that “it was a fantastic day” when asked for his thoughts on the proceedings.

Tensions rose when Patel engaged in a sharp exchange with Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who questioned his qualifications.

“Simply this: if the best attacks on me are going to be false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations, the only thing this body is doing is defeating the credibility of the men and women at the FBI. I STOOD with them, here in this country, in every theater of war we have – I was on the ground in service,” Patel declared.

“And any accusations that I would put political bias before the Constitution are grotesquely unfair and I will have you reminded I have been endorsed by over 300,000 law enforcement officers to become the next director of the FBI. Let’s ask them,” he added.

Patel criticized Democrats for distorting his past remarks to “score cheap political points.”

“In the collective, all of those statements are taken out of grotesque context,” he stated.

Furthermore, Patel accused his detractors of “intentionally putting false information into the public ether and creating more public discourse.” He assured the Senate panel, “The only thing that will matter if I am confirmed as director of the FBI is a de-weaponized, depoliticized system of law enforcement completely devoted to rigorous obedience of the Constitution and a singular standard of justice.”