Kash Patel clashes with Senate Democrats over FBI budget, drinking claims
WASHINGTON − Embattled FBI Director Kash Patel clashed with Democratic senators Tuesday, May 12, about reports alleging his excessive drinking, erratic behavior and misuse of government resources at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the bureau's 2027 budget request.
Patel’s fiery exchange and heated defense of his role started early in the hearing. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, peppered the FBI director with questions about whether he drank too much and used government funds for personal travel – including to the Winter Olympics in Milan in February.
"Director Patel, these reports about your conduct, including reports of your being so drunk and hung over that your staff had to force entry into your home, are extremely alarming," Van Hollen said.
When it was time for Van Hollen to directly question Patel, their exchanges were increasingly acrimonious.
After one Van Hollen question about Patel's alleged drinking, the FBI director heatedly shot back: "The only person that was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gangbanging rapist was you." That was an apparent reference to Van Hollen's visit to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man the Trump administration deported to El Salvador despite a court order prohibiting his deportation. Van Hollen called Patel's claim “provably false.”
Various Democrats on the panel spent most of their time questioning Patel about the budget priorities of the nation's premier law enforcement agency, and for reportedly using an FBI jet worth at least $60 million for travel to sporting events and at least one of his girlfriend’s singing performances.
The heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.
'You are a disgrace,' senator tells Patel
Aysha Bagchi
As the hearing approaches its close, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D–Maryland, described Patel as "a disgrace" for refusing to acknowledge it's a crime to lie to Congress and earlier accusing the senator of having margaritas with a "convicted gangbanging rapist," which Van Hollen said is "provably false."
Patel said repeatedly that he did not lie to Congress, but didn't respond on whether doing so is a crime.
"The director of the FBI apparently does not want to answer the question about whether or not it's a crime to lie to Congress, and I find that extremely troubling," Van Hollen said.
"I find it troubling that you lie to the American people every day," Patel responded.
"You are a disgrace, Mr. Director," Van Hollen said.
Patel quizzed on why FBI is investigating 2020, 2024 elections and seizing ballots
Josh Meyer
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, expressed concerns about recent FBI searches, subpoenas and ballot seizures that “appear to target election-related matters tied to debunked theories,” including in battleground states like Georgia and Arizona.
Patel responded that those actions followed legal processes, including court-approved search warrants, and that they were part of a stepped-up FBI “election-security posture” in the runup to the November midterms.
Patel said the FBI has also installed Election County Coordinators (ECCs) in every one of its 56 field offices to support local election officials and established a national election-security coordination post at its Washington headquarters.
Concerned state and local election officials “want to know what is going to happen going forward,” Peters said. “They're going to want to ensure that state and local elections are indeed going to be free and fair, and folks are being protected by the FBI” as opposed to being subject to politically motivated probes into what he said were debunked claims of rigged elections in 2020 and 2024.
Peters also said that the Senate Homeland Security Committee plans to “do a deeper dive into that” when Patel testifies before it, and that he hopes Patel will provide senators with a detailed briefing on the FBI’s election security efforts.
Patel defends his travel, time off
Aysha Bagchi
Asked by Sen. John Kennedy, R–Louisiana, whether it's important for the FBI director to travel in order to talk to agents and maintain morale, Patel described it as "one of the most important parts of the job," and said he wanted to comment further on his personal travel.
"If I can, when it comes to travel, I've actually traveled one-third less for personal holidays than my prior two predecessors combined, and I've taken half as many days off as my prior predecessors combined," Patel said.
Patel has sued The Atlantic for allegedly defaming him with a story that described unexplained absences and "frequently" spending parts of his weekends at the Poodle Room in Las Vegas, where he is "known to drink to excess." Early in Patel's tenure, meetings needed to be rescheduled because of his alcohol-fueled nights, according to the story, which cited several unnamed current and former officials.
FBI is ‘unequivocally’ not targeting and investigating journalists, Patel says
Josh Meyer
FBI Director Kash Patel denied media reports that the FBI is investigating any journalists, including a reporter from The Atlantic who recently wrote two critical stories alleging excessive drinking by Patel and his sharing of specially branded bourbon bottles with his name and the FBI logo.
The latest, by MS NOW, reported May 6 that FBI agents were investigating The Atlantic reporter, Sarah Fitzpatrick, who wrote the stories alleging heavy drinking and erratic behavior by Patel.
"Can you commit to this committee today that no agent hours have been pulled from other work like counterterrorism or violent crime investigations to work on matters related to negative press about you or your personal lawsuit” against The Atlantic, asked Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington.
"I greatly appreciate the question, and I can tell you unequivocally, this FBI is targeting and investigating no journalists,” Patel said. He then alleged that the Obama and Biden administrations targeted “dozens of journalists,” not the Trump administration.
"I didn't ask you about the Biden administration,” Murray said. “I asked if you can commit to this committee that no agent hours have been pulled from other work."
"We have not done so," Patel said.
Patel agrees to take drinking test 'side by side' with senator
Aysha Bagchi
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D–Maryland, said Patel's attacks on him after being questioned over allegations of excessive drinking suggest the allegations are true. Van Hollen then asked Patel if he is willing to take an audit test that military members take to determine whether they have a drinking problem.
"I'll take any test you're willing to take," Patel said.
"I'll take it. Ready to take it?" Van Hollen responded.
"Let's go. Let's go. Side by side!" Patel said.
'Slinging margaritas' with 'convicted gangbanging rapist': Patel fires back at Democrat
Aysha Bagchi
After Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D–Maryland, questioned Patel directly about accusations he has been excessively drinking on the job, the FBI director heatedly shot back.
"The only person that was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gangbanging rapist was you," Patel said to Van Hollen.
That may be a reference to Van Hollen's visit to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man the Trump administration deported to El Salvador despite a court order prohibiting his deportation. However, it's not clear there would be a basis for calling Abrego Garcia a convicted gangbanging rapist.
El Salvador's president posted on social media that the senator was "sipping margaritas" with the deported man, but Van Hollen denied that claim.
Fentanyl-fighting efforts ‘working extremely well’ but more needs to be done: DEA chief
Josh Meyer
Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, the Appropriations Subcommittee chairman, said he had just traveled to China to discuss stopping the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals to Mexican drug cartels with Beijing officials.
Moran then asked DEA Administrator Terrance Cole what the Drug Enforcement Administration is doing with foreign partners including China, India and Mexico “to break down this supply chain” of precursor chemicals entering Mexico and reaching the U.S.
The DEA is “laser focused on targeting and disrupting the supply chain out of China, as well as in India,” Cole said. He described two bilateral meetings in the U.S. this year with Chinese officials – one at DEA headquarters and the other at the DEA’s Rocky Mountain field division.
Cole said those efforts with Chinese and other foreign officials are “working extremely well” at the ground level but that barriers remain and that there is a need for more action.
Patel, federal agency chiefs agree agents with excessive drinking should be disciplined
Josh Meyer
Sen. Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat, asked the chiefs of the other federal agencies testifying if they would take disciplinary action against one of their agents who “was unable to perform his or her duties because of excessive drinking.”
All three answered yes, with the caveat that it would need to be investigated through appropriate disciplinary channels first. The directors were: Robert Cekada, director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Gadyaces Serralta, director of the U.S. Marshals Service and Terrance Cole, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Van Hollen than asked Patel, after having criticized him for media reports of excessive drinking.
“Director Patel, you agree with these three gentlemen … that if one of your agents was unable to perform his or her duties because of excessive drinking, you would need to take corrective or disciplinary action. You agree with that statement?”
Patel replied: “We would implement the inspection review process, just like these other agencies have their own internal investigations, and complete that review.”
Patel disputes report of excessive drinking
Aysha Bagchi
After defending the FBI's record fighting crime under his leadership, Patel briefly addressed accusations from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D–Maryland, about his conduct at the bureau, including a report in The Atlantic that he has alarmed colleagues with excessive drinking and unexplained absences.
"When you say, 'There's credible reporting,' just because you say it's credible, doesn't make it so," Patel said.
"If you want to cite a media report and discredit the men and women of the FBI, go right ahead. The target's right here. The mission has never been more successful," Patel added.
Patel has engaged in ‘a litany’ of abuses as FBI director, top panel Democrat says
Josh Meyer
Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the top Democrat on the panel, sharply criticized FBI Director Kash Patel for what he said was “a litany” of abuses, including political firings of trusted career agents “whose only fault was following the facts and the law.”
“That includes the firing of agents and staff from a special counterintelligence unit that monitored threats from Iran, weaponizing the FBI to seek political revenge on former FBI Director James Comey and others and using FBI investigative resources to go after journalists who write stories that you don't like,” Van Hollen told Patel.
Earlier Tuesday, Van Hollen said, “We learned more details about your firing of Brian Driscoll,” a decorated FBI special agent with nearly two decades of experience. In a CNN interview, Driscoll – who is suing Patel for wrongful termination – said Patel made clear that “his future at the FBI was tied to his political allegiance to Donald Trump.”
'Drunk and hungover': Hearing opens with fiery accusations against Patel
Aysha Bagchi
Before Patel has had a chance to speak at the hearing, he is already facing heated accusations about his reported drinking.
"Director Patel, these reports about your conduct, including reports of your being so drunk and hungover that your staff had to force entry into your home, are extremely alarming," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D–Maryland, said in the first remarks from a Democrat on the committee.
Van Hollen said if the reports are true, they show "a gross dereliction of your duty and a betrayal of public trust."
Patel doesn't respond on whether Trump still backs him
Aysha Bagchi
Ahead of the hearing, FBI Director Kash Patel walked by a crowd of reporters in the nearby hallway.
"Do you still have the confidence of the president?" one person shouted out to him.
Patel didn't respond as he entered into a side room.
Fired FBI official says Patel tied job security to purging agents who investigated Trump
Josh Meyer
Former top FBI official Brian Driscoll, in a new interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, described a White House-directed purge aimed at punishing or removing FBI employees involved in investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and the probe into President Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents after his first term.
CNN said the interview was Driscoll’s first since being fired by Patel last year. While Patel was going through his Senate confirmation process, Driscoll was acting FBI director and made headlines for refusing to submit the names of the FBI agents and analysts who worked on those probes.
“It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up,” Driscoll said of efforts by Patel to politicize the FBI and dismiss anyone seen as being anti-Trump.
Driscoll is now suing Patel and the Trump administration for wrongful termination. Patel has denied weaponizing the bureau to aide Trump.
Patel likely to face questions on reports of excessive drinking
Josh Meyer
FBI Director Kash Patel, who oversees an agency with about 38,000 agents and other personnel, has reportedly “alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences" and that it said could pose a threat to national security, according to a report from The Atlantic.
Patel has also been gifting bottles of Woodford Reserve bourbon engraved with “Kash Patel FBI Director” along with the agency’s shield and his first name stylized as “Ka$h,” according to a follow-up reportin The Atlantic.
Patel has criticized the articles and sued The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick for $250 million but has not specifically denied at least some of the allegations in the two articles. In the follow-up piece, Fitzpatrick wrote that the director frequently travels with a case of the bourbon to hand out at events, and has gifted the bottles to FBI staff and people he meets while carrying out his duties.
He also garnered headlines this past February following the U.S. men's hockey team's victory at the Winter Olympics in Milan, after video emerged showing him chugging beer and celebrating with the team. The author of a children's book about Trump, The Plot Against the King, defended his beer-soaked locker-room celebration, saying he was in Italy on official business and that he would pay for his personal expenses.
"For the very concerned media - yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys," Patel, a longtime hockey fan and player, wrote on X.