Kash Patel was sworn in as the FBI director and he called the opportunity to lead the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency the “greatest honour” of his life.
According to AP report, Patel was confirmed by the Senate by a 51-49 margin, with two Republican lawmakers, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, breaking party ranks and voting against him.
“I think he’ll go down as the best ever at that position,” President Donald Trump told reporters Friday ahead of the White House swearing-in on Friday, which was conducted by Attorney General Pam Bondi and attended by Republican supporters in Congress, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Trump added that the “agents love this guy”.
Patel will inherit an FBI gripped by turmoil as the Justice Department over the past month has forced out a group of senior bureau officials and made a highly unusual demand for the names of thousands of agents who participated in investigations related to the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.
Kash according to PTI, traces his roots to Bhadran village in Gujarat’s Anand district, from where his family migrated to Uganda 70 to 80 years ago, his community members said.
New York-born Patel (44), who belongs to the Patidar community, has become the first Indian-American to lead the premier law enforcement agency of the United States.
Leaders of the Patidar community said all close family members of Patel are settled in foreign countries. They sold their ancestral houses in Bhadran once they shifted to Africa.
Chh Gam Patidar Mandal, an organisation of the community based in Anand, maintains `vanshavali’ (family tree) of its members.
“In the ‘vanshavali’ we have names of Kash Patel’s father Pramod Patel and also his brothers and grandfather,” said secretary of the organisation and Anand district Bharatiya Janata Party present Rajesh Patel.
