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A fight between Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and FBI Director Kash Patel erupted on Tuesday during a hearing as Booker grilled Patel about controversies surrounding his tenure at the bureau.
Booker accused Patel of making the country “weaker and less safe” and predicted he would not last as FBI director, before a yelling match ensued.
“I think you’re not going to be around long,” Booker said during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. “I think this might be your last oversight hearing, because as much as you supplicate yourself to the will of Donald Trump and not the Constitution of the United States of America, Donald Trump has shown us in his first term, and in this term, he is not loyal to people like you.”
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Patel shot back that Booker’s “rant of false information does not bring this country together,” before adding, “It’s my time, not yours.”
“My God! My God!” Booker exclaimed.
The clash came as Booker was grilling Patel over firings at the FBI and sealed grand jury testimony he gave during the prosecution against President Donald Trump related to classified documents.
The Department of Justice was recently sued by three ousted top FBI officials who alleged they were unconstitutionally fired by Patel without explanation despite each serving at the bureau for about two decades without performance issues. Their firings are part of a broader trend at the bureau involving DOJ leadership firing several FBI officials who have been caught up in high-profile incidents perceived by the Trump administration to have contributed to a weaponization of FBI power. Booker also raised concern about Patel redirecting a large fraction of rank-and-file agents’ focus onto immigration enforcement, which is typically overseen by the Department of Homeland Security.
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Patel, meanwhile, has faced scrutiny for his lack of law enforcement experience and for the personnel firings and priority shifts. The FBI Agents Association has been among those who called for bureau leadership to “strengthen due process protections” for agents.
Booker also accused Patel of sowing division through his social media, another point of controversy as Patel has had some missteps online, including, most recently, miscommunicating about the arrest of a suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The White House has been outwardly supportive of Patel’s performance, but internal concerns have cropped up.
At the hearing, the FBI director attempted to talk over Booker as they engaged in a shouting match.
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“You can’t lecture me!” Booker yelled.
Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, interjected, calling for order. The New Jersey Democrat stormed out after his questioning concluded.
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