Trump's Trials - Trump says he intends to nominate loyalist Kash Patel to serve as FBI director

Episode Date: December 2, 2024

Trump's Trials is now Trump's Terms. Each episode, host Scott Detrow curates NPR coverage of the incoming Trump administration.President-elect Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he would be replacing FBI director Chris Wray with Kash Patel, a longtime ally. Patel has made controversial statements about the agency. A Martinez speaks to NPR's Carrie Johnson.Support NPR and hear every episode sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Support for NPR and the following message come from the Walton Family Foundation, working to create access to opportunity for people and communities by tackling tough social and environmental problems. More information is at waltonfamilyfoundation.org. I'm Ian Martinez. President-elect Trump says he'll nominate ally Cash Patel to serve as the next director of the FBI. That's setting up a move to replace the current director,

Chris Wray, whom Trump appointed during his first term in office. FBI director served for 10 years, and Wray has two years left on his term. Patel has been a fierce critic of the country's top law enforcement agency and has been vocal about his plans to change it. We're joined now by NPR justice correspondent, Carrie Johnson. So Carrie, tell us more about

Cash Patel. What are his qualifications for this job? Patel worked as a public defender and as a federal prosecutor for a while, but he's really best known for his unyielding loyalty to Donald Trump. And he's been controversial even among some Trump supporters. Patel's falsely said Trump won the 2020 election. He's helped raise doubts about the investigation of Russian election interference in 2016. And for a time, he served as an aide in the Pentagon during Trump's first term. But when Trump first proposed the idea of installing Patel at the FBI back in those days, then Attorney General Bill Barr said it would be over his dead of installing Patel at the FBI back in those days, then Attorney

General Bill Barr said it would be over his dead body because Patel did not have the qualifications for a job that important and that sensitive. And Patel has not been shy about being vocal about what he sees are problems with the Justice Department and the FBI. So what's he been saying about those institutions? Patel's been clear about wanting to clean house inside the DOJ and the FBI top ranks. Here's what he had to say earlier this year on the podcast, The Sean Ryan Show. Sean Ryan Show I shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day

one and reopening the next day as a museum of the deep state. And I take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals. Danielle Pletka-Petel says he wants to shrink the government and do the same thing at the DOJ. He's also said he's ready to use law enforcement power to go after people who oppose Trump with prosecutions and civil lawsuits. And that could include members of Congress,

people who prosecuted Donald Trump, and reporters. Now, FBI director is a 10-year job. There's already someone at that job, Carrie, so what might happen to this person? That's right. Trump chose Chris Wray, a Republican and a member of the conservative Federalist Society, after Trump fired Jim Comey in 2017. It's been rare to fire an FBI director with time left on his term, but it has happened before. And now it's not clear whether Wray would stick around to be fired in January or whether he might resign first. Over the weekend, the FBI said Chris Ray, the director, is focused on the FBI workforce and on protecting the American people from threats. Now, a couple of weeks ago, Ray attended an event for FBI agents where he got a lot

of praise for leading the Bureau through a political storm and for focusing on the facts. Now, becoming FBI director requires approval from the Senate, so what's the reaction been so far from lawmakers? Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican in line to lead the Judiciary Committee next year, did not explicitly offer support for or against Patel. Grassley said on Axe he wants to see more transparency from the FBI. And he says Patel needs to prove to the Senate he's ready to reform the agency and restore

public trust. But other lawmakers did not sound so sure. Republican senators are going to have the power to sink this choice, just as they did recently with the idea of putting Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz in charge of the Justice Department. And for their part, Democrats on Capitol Hill say Trump is following through on his campaign threat to try to turn the Justice Department into a political operation bent on revenge. Even if Cash Patel does not make it through the process to become the FBI director, this

choice signals the DOJ and the FBI are in for a very rough ride next year. MPR's Keri Johnson. Keri, thanks. My pleasure. And before we wrap up, a thank you to our NPR Plus supporters who hear each show without sponsored messages and of course who help protect independent journalism. If you are not a supporter yet, you can visit plus.npr.org to find out how you can get a

ton of podcast perks across dozens of NPR shows, like bonus episodes, exclusive merchandise, and more. Again, that's plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detro. Thanks for listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. This message comes from the Kresge Foundation. Established 100 years ago, the Kresge Foundation works to expand equity and opportunity in cities across America. A century of impact, a future of opportunity.

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