US Senate confirms Kash Patel as Donald Trump’s FBI Director after 51-49 votes

Kash Patel, an ally of President Donald Trump, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to NBC News. While the nomination faced opposition from Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, Patel received backing from the rest of the Republican Party, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had previously opposed other Trump nominees. 

The confirmation passed with a narrow 51-49 vote, as all Senate Democrats voted against him. Meanwhile, Dan Scavino, Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Chief of Staff, shared a video on X and congratulated Patel. He wrote, “Congratulations to the new Director of the FBI, @Kash_Patel!”

Congratulations to the new Director of the FBI, @Kash_Patel! pic.twitter.com/JsANV0s9cP— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) February 20, 2025

Earlier, the US Senate voted to advance Indian-origin Kash Patel’s nomination as the Director of FBI. On Tuesday, Patel cleared a key procedural vote in the Senate with strong Republican backing, as reported by The New York Post. The Senate voted 48-45 along party lines to advance the nomination, triggering a 30-hour debate before Patel would have received final approval on Thursday, The New York Post reported.

During the Senate confirmation hearings on January 30, while referring to the January 6 Capitol Riots, reiterated his firm stance against violence, emphasizing that such actions must never be tolerated. He stated that anyone who engages in violence against law enforcement should be investigated, prosecuted, and imprisoned.

During the Senate confirmation hearings, Patel said, “For January 6, I have repeatedly, publicly and privately said that there can never be a tolerance for violence against law enforcement. And anyone that commits an act of violence against law enforcement should be investigated, prosecuted and imprisoned.”

Patel also reaffirmed his commitment to exposing corruption in government, calling public service a privilege and vowing to continue holding officials accountable. He led President Trump’s counterterrorism mission as Deputy Assistant to the President on the National Security Council (NSC) and helped President Trump’s with his top priorities including eliminating Al-Qa’ida and ISIS senior leadership and safely repatriating dozens of American hostages. 

As the top counterterrorism official at the White House, Kash was responsible for creating and implementing our nation’s policy to safeguard the homeland by overseeing the interagency implementation of the national CT strategy. 

(this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)