'Patel doing a great job': Trump denies plans to remove FBI director

By Kate Sullivan

 

President Donald Trump denied a report that he was considering removing FBI Director Kash Patel amid a string of controversies. 

“No, he’s doing a great job, I think,” Trump told reporters Tuesday aboard Air Force One.

 

MS NOW reported earlier Tuesday that Trump was considering replacing Patel with FBI co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey, as concerns swirled over the director’s social media posts during high-profile investigations and the use of a government jet to visit his girlfriend.

 

“This story is completely made up,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded on X.

Bailey, the former Missouri attorney general, has for months been seen as a possible replacement-in-waiting for both Patel and his other deputy, Dan Bongino, known more for their conservative political commentary than law enforcement experience. 

 

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. A spokesperson for MS NOW said the organization stood by its reporting. 

 

Trump also praised Patel in an interview with Fox News Radio last week, saying he had “a lot of confidence” in the director.

 

Still, Patel’s conduct has come under intensified scrutiny in recent weeks. The New York Times reported the FBI dispatched a SWAT team to serve as a protective detail for Alexis Wilkins, his girlfriend and a country music singer. Patel has used government jets to visit Wilkins and for recreational travel, including a golf trip. The director defended the practice as standard in order to maintain access to secure communications equipment. 

 

Legal experts have also pointed to instances where Patel posted information about ongoing cases on social media, including during the search for the man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk and what the FBI described as a planned Halloween terror attack in Michigan.