President Donald Trump’s nominees keep on winning, including ones Democrats hoped to torpedo.
On Tuesday evening, the Senate voted along party lines to advance the nomination of Kash Patel, the man that Trump wants to head the FBI, replacing Christopher Wray.
The 48-45 party line vote came after one of the lawmakers on the fence — Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy — confirmed that he would be advancing the nomination, according to The Hill.
“I’ve spoken to multiple people I respect about Kash Patel this weekend — both for and against,” Cassidy said in a statement.
“The ones who worked closely with Kash vouched for him. I will vote for his confirmation.”
I’ve spoken to multiple people I respect about Kash Patel this weekend—both for and against. The ones who worked closely with Kash vouched for him. I will vote for his confirmation.
— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) February 18, 2025
Cassidy’s support, along with the vote, sets “the stage for a final confirmation vote on one of Trump’s most controversial nominees later this week,” Reuters reported.
Do you support Kash Patel?
Patel, a former federal prosecutor who served in various national security positions during the first Trump administration, was seen as one of the nominees the Democrats thought was the most vulnerable to an attack.
In addition to attacking his experience and controversial statements he’s made in the past, Democrats argued that his vocal criticism of the FBI’s investigations of Trump under former President Joe Biden’s administration might lead to a “purge” of those deemed responsible.
Patel, however, told Congress during his testimony that there wouldn’t be any retribution for those who worked on the investigations simply because they worked on the investigations, arguing that he wanted to review their work.
“I think if anyone commits a wrong in government service, the American public deserve to know every absolute detail of that corrupt activity,” Patel said.
According to Politico, after the first hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to produce the knockout blow they wanted to land — the same way the knockout blow didn’t come against other nominees like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats requested a second hearing.
This hearing, Politico reported, was meant to focus on Patel’s role in former special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into then-former President Trump’s retention of classified material.
“In order to discharge our constitutional duty, we must have a full and accurate understanding of Mr. Patel’s record,” wrote Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats in a letter to Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley .
“The Committee must fulfill its responsibility to the American people and the 38,000 employees of the FBI nationwide to ensure that a Director confirmed by the Senate possesses the requisite characteristics of truthfulness, trustworthiness, and regard for the protection of classified information befitting of the FBI.”
This didn’t happen, and the Judiciary Committee advanced the nomination by a 12-10 vote.
It’s worth noting that several senators didn’t vote, and Patel still needs to get to 50 votes to get confirmed to a 10-year term as FBI director.
The two usual suspects in the 53-strong Republican caucus — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — have announced they’re undecided on Patel, the Hill reported. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, another “no” vote on other nominees Democrats have caused a controversy over, has not publicly announced his position on the matter.
That being said, Cassidy was considered to be the most likely “no” vote, if there was to be one, that would prevent the GOP from getting to 50 votes on Patel.
With his support, it looks like the final cabinet-level cause célèbre nominee targeted by The Resistance 2.0 looks on track to get confirmed. We’ll find out for sure later this week.
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