Trump Says He Will Replace F.B.I. Director With Kash Patel

President-elect Donald J.Trump said on Saturday that he wants to replace Christopher A.

Wray, the F.B.I.director, with Kash Patel, a hard-line critic of the bureau who has called for shutting down the agency’s Washington headquarters, firing its leadership and bringing the nation’s law enforcement agencies “to heel.”Mr.

Trump’s planned nomination of Mr.Patel has echoes of his failed attempt to place another partisan firebrand, Matt Gaetz, atop the Justice Department as attorney general.

It could run into hurdles in the Senate, which will be called on to confirm him, and is sure to send shock waves through the F.B.I., which Mr.Trump and his allies have come to view as part of a “deep state” conspiracy against him.Mr.

Patel has been closely aligned with Mr.Trump’s belief that much of the nation’s law enforcement and national security establishment needs to be purged of bias and held accountable for what they see as unjustified investigations and prosecutions of Mr.

Trump and his allies.Mr.Patel “played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability and the Constitution,” Mr.

Trump said in announcing his choice in a social media post.Mr.Patel, a favorite of Mr.

Trump’s political base, has worked as a federal prosecutor and a public defender, but has little of the law enforcement and management experience typical of F.B.I.directors.He served in a series of administration positions at the tail end of Mr.

Trump’s first term, including posts on the National Security Council and in the Pentagon.Before leaving office in early 2021, Mr.

Trump floated the idea of making Mr.Patel deputy director of either the C.I.A.

or the F.B.I.William P.

Barr, the attorney general at the time, wrote in his memoir that Mr.Patel would have become deputy F.B.I.

director only “over my dead body.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser set...