Inside the FBI Turmoil: How Kash Patel’s Conduct and Trump’s Pressure Spark a Crisis of Confidence
In an extraordinary series of revelations, former and current FBI officials describe an agency strained by political pressure, internal distrust, and what they call unprecedented misuse of federal resources by Trump-aligned appointees—chief among them FBI Director Kash Patel.
The White House has denied recent reporting that Patel used a government jet to attend his girlfriend’s performances and dispatched FBI SWAT agents as her personal security detail. But interviews with former agents, congressional staffers, and internal communications reviewed by reporters paint a picture of deep institutional alarm.
A Leadership Crisis Years in the Making
Christopher O’Lirri, a former FBI special agent and counterterrorism official, told MSNBC that Patel and fellow Trump loyalist Dan Bongino “were patently unqualified for the job,” adding that their elevation to the highest levels of federal law enforcement was “the direct result of political loyalty rather than competence.”
According to O’Lirri, their presence at the top of the bureau forced out “hundreds of years of institutional expertise” precisely when the FBI faces overlapping crises—from rising domestic extremism to foreign espionage threats.
“What the country needs is a leader capable of reconstituting the institution and correcting the generational harm,” O’Lirri said. “Instead, we’re watching resources be diverted for personal errands.”
Government Jets, UFC Fights, and a ‘Make-A-Wish Director’
A New Yorker investigation detailed how Patel used Justice Department aircraft—including its Boeing 757 and a G5 typically reserved for rapid deployment in national-security emergencies—to attend UFC fights in Las Vegas and Miami. In another instance, he reportedly flew to New York with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to attend a game where Alex Ovechkin broke the NHL’s all-time scoring record.
“It’s gotten to the point where agents are calling him the ‘Make-A-Wish Director,’” O’Lirri said. “These planes are meant to respond to nuclear threats or major terror incidents. Not to watch a hockey game.”
One FBI official described a single week in which Patel flew to New York for a major fraud case event, continued to Pennsylvania to attend his girlfriend’s national-anthem performance, then traveled to Nashville and onward to a privately owned ranch during a government shutdown—while federal employees were not being paid.
“If I were still in the bureau,” O’Lirri added, “he would be investigated for fraud, waste, and abuse.”
A Bureau Stretched Thin and Pushed Off Mission
Beyond questions of lavish travel, agents say the bureau’s core mission has been compromised. Many counterterrorism and counterintelligence specialists were reassigned to politically driven investigations, including the now-infamous push to question Democratic lawmakers who filmed a social-media video advising troops not to follow illegal orders.
“These are experts who should be tracking terror cells and foreign intelligence networks,” one agent said. “Instead, we were told to chase social-media posts.”
The sentiment is shared across the bureau: frustration that years of professional training are being sidelined in service of political optics.
Trump, Attacks on the Press, and a Growing Pushback
The turmoil comes as Donald Trump escalates verbal attacks on female journalists—calling them “obnoxious,” “terrible,” “stupid,” “nasty,” and even “ugly”—remarks that have drawn bipartisan concern.
Lawmakers, including some Republicans, have begun pushing back. Indiana state senator Mike Boachek recently switched his vote on redistricting legislation after Trump used an ableist slur to attack Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Boachek, whose daughter has Down syndrome, urged the party to reconsider its tolerance of such language.
“Perhaps the president can use the next ten months to convince voters that his policies and behavior deserve a congressional majority,” he said.
The Broader Political Shift
Observers note that today’s Republican response to inflammatory rhetoric contrasts sharply with 2001, when President George W. Bush visited mosques after 9/11 to discourage anti-Muslim backlash. Many now worry that Trump’s rhetoric, combined with an increasingly politicized FBI leadership, risks inflaming extremism rather than containing it.
“We’re either going to normalize this,” one Democratic lawmaker said, “or we’re going to enter an era of unprecedented hostility toward women, immigrants, and civil servants.”
A Bureau Seeking Its Future
Inside the FBI, many agents—some of them lifelong conservatives—are reportedly leaking out of desperation rather than partisanship. Their goal, according to multiple sources, is to weaken Patel’s position and pressure Trump into restoring more traditional norms of governance.
“They don’t want a Democrat in charge,” one former official said. “They just want to be able to do their jobs.”
Whether these internal alarms will translate into structural reform remains uncertain. But one thing is clear: the FBI is confronting one of the most consequential crises of leadership in its modern history, with national security, public trust, and the agency’s independence hanging in the balance.