Washington: The US President-elect Donald Trump named Kash Patel to be the next director of the FBI, calling him “a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending justice, and protecting the American people.”
Recognising the “pivotal role” Patel played in uncovering what Trump calls the “Russia Hoax”, the President-elect described his nominee as “an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution”, who would “end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the border... to bring back fidelity, bravery, and integrity to the FBI."
High-ranking officials in Trump’s first term in the White House baulked at Patel’s rise from an obscure prosecutor to the post of FBI director. Critics said Patel’s main qualification for the powerful post appeared to be unstinting loyalty to Trump and his pledge to be a hatchet man for the politics of retribution that he has promoted.
In one of the oft-quoted interview segments, Patel made no secret of his quest for reprisals against what he calls the “deep state” that sought to put Trump in the dock, including singling out journalists, telling Trump’s acolyte Steve Bannon in one podcast, “We’re going to come after you, whether it’s criminally or civilly - we’ll figure that out.”
So horrified were sections of the media that the Huffington Post reported the story under the headline “Trump names nut for FBI” while one critic called him “a far-right, deranged MAGA loyalist.” Calls went out to moderate Republicans Senators to block his confirmation.
Kash Patel's full name is Kashyap Pramod Patel and he is 44 years old. His family hails from Bhadran in central Gujarat. Patel's paternal ancestors lived in Moti Khadki, while his uncle, Arunbhai was from Dharmaj. Over time, his parents settled in Uganda and then moved to the United States in the 1970s. His family also lived in Canada for a brief period.
Patel was born in 1980 in Garden City, New York. He studied law and graduated from Richmond University in the United States. After completing his law degree, he became a state attorney in Florida in 2005. In 2015, he joined the Trump team. In 2017, he became a member of the House Intelligence Committee on Intelligence matters. He is considered to be very close to the Republican Party and Donald Trump.
Patel takes great pride in being Gujarati. In an interview, he clearly stated that he can proudly say, "I am Gujarati." Patel has also been a strong supporter of the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. His statement on this issue attracted the attention of Indians. Patel said that while foreign media discusses the 50-year history of Ayodhya, they may not know that the history of the Ram Mandir dates back 500 years! He believes that the historical significance of the Ram Mandir has yet to be fully acknowledged. Patel has consistently supported the construction of the Ram Mandir, and whenever anyone has made statements against it, he has strongly responded.
