24 GOP AGs back Kash Patel for FBI head

A group of 24 Republican attorneys general from across the United States sent a letter to incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and outgoing Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to express their strong support for President-elect Donald Trump's candidate for FBI Director, Kash Patel. The attorneys general wrote that Patel was highly qualified for the position and asked the Senate to accept his nomination, stating that Patel's "invaluable" leadership would restore "trust in the institution."

"Kash Patel is the leader that the Federal Bureau of Investigation needs," the letter of support read. "The FBI has long been a beacon for hardworking and impressive investigators - but their leadership has failed both those brave men and women as well as the country. The FBI needs a smart, competent, reformer as its leader. Mr. Patel is the man for the job."

The letter was signed GOP attorneys general, including: Brenna Bird (IA), Steve Marshall (AL), Todd Rokita (IN), Treg Taylor (AK), Kris Kobach (KS), Tim Griffin (AR), Liz Murrill (LA), Ashley Moody (FL), Lynn Fitch (MS), Chris Carr (GA), Andrew T. Bailey (MO), Raul R. Labrador (ID), Austin Knudsen (MT), Mike Hilgers (NE), Jonathan Skrmetti (TN), Drew Wrigley (ND), Ken Paxton (TX), Dave Yost (OH), Sean D. Reyes (UT), Gentner Drummond (OK), Jason S. Miyares (VA), Alan Wilson (SC), Patrick Morrisey (WV), and Marty Jackley (SD), Fox News reported.

"As Attorneys General for our respective States familiar with the operations of justice departments, we have in the past weighed in on past nominees for the United States Department of Justice positions or when our own colleagues have been nominated," the attorneys general said. "And we take the rule of law seriously. Many of us are also the chief law enforcement officers in our States - and we all partner with the federal government and FBI when needed to ensure justice is done. That the FBI is run well is important to us - and who runs the FBI is important to us, too."

The attorneys continued, "Americans have a crisis in confidence in FBI's leadership. Years of scandal, including baseless investigations in President Trump have shaken the nation's trust in the agency. Rather than focusing on investigating crime and America's domestic threats, the FBI seems oddly focused on investigating President Trump. It is time for a leader to refocus the FBI on its core mission."

Patel has been conducting meetings with GOP senators and touring Capitol Hill in an effort to secure the support required for confirmation. He previously worked under the Trump administration and "began his career as a public defender, trying scores of complete cases ranging from murder, to narco-trafficking, to complex financial crimes in jury trials in state and federal courts," according to his Department of Defense profile.

Additionally, Patel "oversaw the execution of several of President Donald J. Trump's top priorities, including eliminating ISIS and Al-Qa'ida leadership such as al-Baghdadi and Qasen al-Rimi, and the safe repatriation of numerous American hostages. President-elect Donald Trump touted his accomplished legal record in his official nomination for FBI Director.

The attorneys general asserted in the letter that "a few institutions need reform more than the FBI" and "Mr. Patel's sterling character and qualifications strongly commend this august body to exercise its constitutional function and consent to his nomination."