Donald Trump live news: FBI chief pick Patel dodges Jan 6 pardons question
- Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kashyap Patel, has distanced himself from the US president’s decision to pardon January 6 defendants during his Senate confirmation hearing.
- Patel is one of three top Trump cabinet picks fielding questions from United States senators in Washington, DC.
Patel questioning continues
Kashyap Patel’s confirmation committee hearing has resumed.
So far, Patel has sidestepped several topics on which he had previously been vocal.
When asked if he would open an investigation into former Attorney General William Barr, and former FBI directors Christopher Wray and James Comey, he declined to give a definitive response, instead saying he had no intention of “going backwards”.
“Every investigation will be subject to the same legal standard,” Patel said.
He also refused to give a clear answer as to whether Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.
Instead, he said: “President Biden’s election was certified, he was sworn in and he served as the president of the United States.”
Anti-Trump group slams all three nominees
The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump organisation, has released a new ad denouncing Patel, Kennedy and Gabbard.
Addressing the US Senate, the ad says that lawmakers were facing “three of Trump’s most alarming picks”.
“We understand defying Trump is tough. But you’ve already given him [Pentagon chief Pete] Hegseth; that’s enough.”
That means the three Trump nominees having confirmation hearings today – Kennedy, Gabbard and Patel – can afford to lose only three Republican votes.
Gabbard may have the longest odds with Politico reporting that at least four Republican senators have not publicly said how they plan to vote.
When it comes to Kennedy, Senator Mitch McConnell will be closely watched. He is the only polio survivor currently in the chamber and may take issue with Kennedy’s anti-vaccine activism.
McConnell was one of three Republicans who voted against Trump’s pick to head the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, but he was ultimately confirmed.
Republican moderates could vote against Kennedy as well. That is also true for Patel although Republican senators have so far been supportive during his committee hearing today.
