Director Kash Patel
Kash Patel became the ninth Director of the FBI on February 20, 2025. On February 24, 2025, Mr. Patel was also sworn in as the Acting Director of ATF.
A native of New York, Mr. Patel graduated from the University of Richmond in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and history. He later returned to New York to earn his juris doctor and earned a certificate in international law from University College London Faculty of Laws in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Patel began his career in 2005 as a public defender in Florida, trying scores of jury trials in federal and state courts, ranging from murder to narco-trafficking and complex financial crimes.
In 2014, Mr. Patel began his tenure with the Department of Justice (DOJ) as a national security prosecutor under the Obama Administration, where he led investigations spanning multiple theaters of conflict and oversaw the successful prosecution of al-Qaida, ISIS, and other terrorist actors. He also served as the DOJ liaison officer to Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), working with our nation’s tier one special forces units to conduct collaborative global targeting operations in almost every theater of war worldwide.
Mr. Patel then served as the national security advisor and senior counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), where he spearheaded the investigation into Russia’s influence campaign of the 2016 presidential election and ultimately unearthed U.S. intelligence malpractice during the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
Concurrently, he led congressional oversight of sensitive programs for the Intelligence Community (IC) and U.S. Special Operations Forces. His efforts ensured that legislation was enacted to fully fund the multi-billion-dollar budgets supporting intelligence and counterterrorism operations worldwide.
During the first Trump Administration, Mr. Patel led President Trump’s counterterrorism mission as deputy assistant to the president on the National Security Council (NSC). In this capacity, he oversaw the execution of several of President Trump’s top priorities, including eliminating al-Qaida and ISIS senior leadership and safely repatriating dozens of American hostages. As the top counterterrorism official at the White House, he was responsible for overseeing the interagency implementation of the national counterterrorism strategy.
Mr. Patel also served as deputy director of National Intelligence, where he oversaw all 17 IC agencies. He led the director’s mission to synthesize our most critical intelligence holdings, which he briefed during the president's daily briefing.
In 2020, Mr. Patel transitioned over to serve as the chief of staff to the Department of Defense (DoD). As the chief of staff, his responsibilities included executing the DoD’s no-fail mission with over three million employees, operating a $740 billion budget, and overseeing $2 trillion in assets.
Prior to being confirmed as the Director of the FBI, Mr. Patel founded The Kash Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that raises money for legal defense matters, education programs, and financial assistance for all Americans, with a special emphasis on active-duty military, veterans, and law enforcement communities.
