U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) spoke highly of FBI director nominee Kash Patel's performance in his senate hearing on Thursday, where she questioned the Trump pick over national security and Huntsville's place in the new administration.
On Thursday, Patel appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where lawmakers questioned him about his qualifications to head the FBI.
The hearing produced several viral moments, especially with Patel's frequent exchanges with belligerent Democrats. However, when Britt's time came, she painted a glowing picture of the Trump nominee's history and potential should be appointed.
"I have been diligently listening over the last few hours, and what I have heard you say is this. That your duty is to protect American citizens, that you will work to uphold the Constitution," Britt said. "I have heard you say you're going to get back to making sure you focus on violent crime. You said, 'I want children to have parks to play in, not needles to walk on.' You said, 'I'm going to let cops be cops. You said we've got to get back to full transparency. You said all requests will be responded to, and [from] all the members of the Judiciary Committee; for that, we say thank you. You said you were going to have the backs, as you always have, of law enforcement."
After emphasizing the perceived vitalness of the FBI in ensuring national security, preventing violent crime, the influx of drugs, and more, Britt asked Patel to lay out his plan to address those issues.
"[T]he two themes that, if I'm confirmed, that I have for the FBI are really just going back to keeping it simple," Patel responded. "One, let good cops be cops. One hundred thousand drug overdoses, 100,000 rapes, 17,000 homicides – that's with only 70% of the precincts reporting in – that is violent crime exploding out of control. We've got 38,000 employees at the FBI, and as I alluded to earlier, almost a third of them work in or around the Washington D.C., area. Well, those crimes are committed out in the rest of America."
"I'm going to let good cops be cops and put handcuffs on the bad guys, and put child molesters in prison, and put murderers in prison, and make sure CCP [Chinese Communist Party] fentanyl doesn't kill another one of your constituents. That's track one."
"Track two: to restore the trust in the FBI. That has degraded. Not by my opinion, by the Gallup poll, that only 40% of Americans have trust and faith in the FBI. That is a cataclysmic failure in leadership to get to that point. That did not happen over[night]. What the FBI must do, while tackling violent crime and protecting Americans' national security and our sovereignty, is work with Congress, Republicans and Democrats, to expose any government corruption, provide government accountability through transparency, and get you all the documents that you are the custodians of."
Britt then turned her focus to Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal, pushing for a commitment from Patel to tour the facilities there.
"The workforce occupying these facilities, they were moved from D.C. to Huntsville," Britt said. "They are working diligently each and every day to make sure that men and women in uniform are the best trained, equipped, and ready that there is. And I would love a commitment from you just to come with me to visit those facilities—see what those men and women are doing, what they're learning, and all of the training that's right there at their fingertips."
Patel, seemingly needing little prodding from Britt, heartily agreed to come to the state and work to fill the remaining vacancies at the arsenal.
After the hearing adjourned, Britt appeared on Fox Business Live, praising Patel's poise while addressing Senate Democrat's questions.
"He was fantastic," Britt said. "I mean when you think about how he got straight to the point. He said, first off, we're going to let law enforcement officers do what law enforcement officers do. We're going to bring transparency back to the department."
She continued, "Look, he nailed every one of their questions. They absolutely came to play political theatre. You've got people that already trying to run for president. They didn't actually take the time to get down to the nuts and bolts of what he would be doing at the FBI. We didn't hear a question about how we prevent another New Orleans. We didn't hear a question from them about how do we make sure that the people on the terrorist watchlist that come across our borders are obtained and they don't have an opportunity to hurt Americans. We didn't hear them, say, ask questions about what really Americans care about, which is safety and security, and how we're going to get the department back to doing what it was actually founded to do."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
