Bolton, who recently had his Secret Service protection pulled by Trump, compared Patel to the notorious Soviet secret police chief Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria, who advised Joseph Stalin and was known for telling the dictator, “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.”

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Kash Patel to serve as the head of the FBI, approving a pick with a string of controversial statements who has been accused by Democrats of directing a purge of

Only two more Cabinet-level nominees remain: Education designee Linda McMahon and Labor designee Lori Chavez-DeRemer (who could lose some Republican votes due to her relatively pro-labor record but could well pick up a number of Democrats).

Two high-profile Republicans, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, notably voted against his confirmation. Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader, who announced Thursday he will not be seeking re-election in 2026, voted in favor of Patel's nomination, which came as a surprise to many.

The Senate has bowed to Trump by confirming his problematic nominees for high-level positions, most recently Kash Patel

The U.S. Senate confirmed Kash Patel as President Donald Trump's director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Thursday.