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- Sen. Mike Lee and Sen.-elect John Curtis plan to vet Kash Patel's nomination as FBI director.
- Lee expressed initial support for the pick on social media, and a spokesman said Lee appreciates his push for reforms to FBI surveillance.
- Democrats expressed concern over Patel's nomination, fearing FBI partisanship and weaponization.
WASHINGTON — Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Sen.-elect John Curtis both say they will carefully vet President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation and — though neither have publicly taken a position as to whether they will confirm Kash Patel to the role — Lee expressed support for the pick on social media.
Lee congratulated Patel on X after news of his appointment broke on Saturday, and the Republican senator called the pick "based." "We all need Kash now!" he added in another post, along with the hashtag #EndFISAAbuse — a reference to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which created procedures for electronic surveillance.
Although current FBI Director Christopher Wray was appointed by Trump to serve a 10-year term in 2017, the president-elect's announcement signals he plans to remove the sitting director in favor of Patel — a close ally of Trump who has called for major reforms at the FBI and been supportive of Trump's calls for retribution against his political enemies.
"Sen. Lee has known Kash Patel a long time and appreciates his advocacy for critical reforms to end the political weaponization of the FBI, including much-needed reforms to FISA to ensure that Americans' civil liberties are protected," a spokesman for the senator told KSL.com when asked if Lee would support Patel's confirmation. "At this time, Sen. Lee is looking forward to the confirmation hearing, where he will have the opportunity to hear from Mr. Patel directly and carefully consider his nomination. As always, Sen. Lee remains committed to thoroughly vetting all nominees based on their qualifications and dedication to upholding the Constitution."
Lee has been a frequent critic of FISA and pushed this spring to reform the program to require federal agents to get a warrant before reading communications sent by Americans or search for them in the database of collected intelligence. Patel has also been critical of FISA and called on Congress to let the program lapse rather than renew it earlier this year, according to The Hill.
A spokesman for Curtis, who was recently elected to replace Sen. Mitt Romney, said the incoming senator believes the president-elect should be given some level of deference when it comes to nominating his desired staff but said Curtis takes seriously the Senate's role in confirming or rejecting those nominations.
"Curtis takes his constitutional duty to provide advice and consent seriously, and his goal is to ensure that Utahns' voices are heard," said Adam Cloch. "He plans to carefully examine the records and qualifications of every nominee President-elect Trump sends to the Senate."
If Patel is formally nominated after Trump takes office in January, the Senate Judiciary Committee — of which Lee is currently a member — will be tasked with vetting and voting on the nomination before consideration heads to the full Senate. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas — another member of the committee — has also signaled he would support Patel, calling him "a very strong nominee" and telling CBS' "Face the Nation" that Patel would "clean out the corrupted partisans" he said are running the agency.
Several Democrats, however, have expressed concern at the nomination, including Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
"President (Joe) Biden kept Director Wray in office because the FBI is supposed to be insulated from partisanship," Durbin said in a series of posts on X. "Now, the president-elect wants to replace his own appointee with an unqualified loyalist. The Senate should reject this unprecedented effort to weaponize the FBI for the campaign of retribution that Donald Trump has promised."
