President Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, has called on leaders to weaken powerful career bureaucrats in Washington for years, referring to them as part of the “deep state” and politically motivated federal investigators, in particular, as “gangsters.”
If confirmed, he could be the one spearheading those reforms.
Nicole Parker, a former FBI special agent who spent more than 12 years with the bureau, has a few ideas on where to start.
“There was a palpable disconnect between the line agents and leadership in Washington, D.C.,” she told Fox News Digital. “These observations inform my belief that the FBI is currently suffering from a distinct lack of leadership and that the future of the FBI will be directly tied to how the next director solves the agency’s problems.”
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Patel outlined some of his critiques of alleged corruption within “the permanent government bureaucracy” in a 2023 book, “Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy.”
Parker, who said she does not know Patel personally, told Fox News Digital that the next director will be tasked with restoring the FBI’s “credibility” in the public eye after years of accusations that some investigations have been politically motivated to target conservatives, including Trump himself.
She identified five areas where she believes a new director can make an impact on his first day on the job.
“On day one, the next FBI director should begin implementing a plan to restore integrity within the agency,” she told Fox News Digital.
1. Bring in new brass
“The first, most crucial task is to appoint solid leaders on the executive team and throughout the entire FBI,” she said.
Candidates should be strong leaders with an emphasis on integrity.
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They should be dedicated to “strict adherence to the Constitution, rather than [to] personal biases and agendas and diversity,” she said.
2. Reform ‘internal culture’
The bureau should focus more on the needs of victims, Parker said.
“The administrative HQ in Washington, D.C., should be trimmed, and the power to select and investigate cases should be returned to the field,” she added. “The bureau also needs a shift in its culture to focus solely on best serving the American people and protecting them at all cost. No outside superfluous distractions should be tolerated.”
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3. Accountability and consequences
“Inappropriate actions” and inadequate job performance should be met with “tangible consequences,” Parker said.
Despite allegations of weaponized investigations, she said the bureau is still staffed with dedicated agents “who are holding the line” and deserve support.
“Those who choose not to uphold their Constitutional oaths should be held accountable,” she added.
In a 2022 op-ed for Fox News Digital, Patel called for a committee to take the FBI and Justice Department to task for alleged abuses of power against conservatives.
“The politicization of the FBI into a partisan tool to punish the Democrats’ enemies and protect their friends is a threat that imperils our republic and demands Congress’ immediate attention,” he wrote at the time. “They have created a two-tiered system of justice; we must undo it.”
4. Raise hiring standards
As part of the mission to build up the FBI’s public image, Parker said hiring and promotions should be jacked up to “the highest in FBI history.”
Patel, in his book, called for increased congressional oversight and the firing of “corrupt actors” in the FBI.
“The fact is, we need a federal agency that investigates federal crimes, and that agency will always be at risk of having its powers abused,” he wrote.
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5. Cut wasteful spending
The FBI’s budget request in fiscal 2025 sought more than $11.3 billion.
The bureau has more than 37,000 employees, about 13,600 of whom are agents.
Parker had one more recommendation that could take a little time for a new director to accomplish: visiting the FBI field offices around the country.
Patel, in his book, took that a step forward and argued that FBI leadership should move outside the Beltway.
“Keeping the FBI in its behemoth Washington HQ building only allows for institutional capture and incentivizes senior leadership in the FBI to lose focus on their mission and learn how to play political games instead, currying favor with politicians and cultivating relationships with the press to advance their career,” he wrote.
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“Understand rank-and-file’s unique needs and concerns better,” Parker said. “Ensure that power now concentrated at FBI headquarters is no more fully vested in the field, time the bloated bureaucracy at HQ and send agents and staff back to the field to work investigations.”
Like his direct predecessors, Patel has a legal background but is not a former agent. However, he was the chief investigator in a congressional probe into allegations of FISA abuse at the FBI during the 2016 Russian interference investigation.
Trump described his nominee as a talented investigator and reformer when he announced Patel’s nomination within weeks of winning election to a second term. While critics have challenged Patel’s experience and closeness to the president, supporters view him as a reformer who will improve the bureau.
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“Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, announcing the nomination on Nov. 30. He noted that Patel had tried more than 60 cases as an attorney and highlighted other parts of his resume.
Patel was a federal prosecutor who handled foreign terror cases with the Department of Justice and began his career as a public defense lawyer. And he served in a number of Defense Department and White House roles during the first Trump administration, including as senior director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council and as chief of staff to former Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.
“This FBI will 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,” Trump continued. “Kash will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI.”
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, wrote on X that Patel’s background placed him in key national security positions in all three branches of government. He’d also been a congressional watchdog.
Sen. Dick Durbin, however, an influential Illinois Democrat and the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called Patel “the wrong choice.”
“Kash Patel has neither the experience, the temperament, nor the judgment to lead the FBI,” Durbin claimed.
Patel’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
“The FBI is not damaged beyond repair,” Parker told Fox News Digital.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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