Indian-origin Kash Patel on Friday was sworn in as the ninth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), taking oath on the sacred Hindu text of Bhagavad Gita.
Kash Patel’s girlfriend and family members were present at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building as he was sworn in by US Attorney General Pam Bondi following his confirmation as the FBI director by the US Senate. He succeeded Christopher Wray.
Kash Patel is not the first Indian-American to have taken his oath of office on the Gita. Earlier, Congressman Suhash Subrahmanyam also took his oath on the Gita.
#WATCH | Washington | Kash Patel takes oath on the Bhagavad Gita, as the 9th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Source: US Network Pool via Reuters pic.twitter.com/c5Jr0ul1Jm
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2025
‘The American dream’
Kash Patel called this opportunity to lead the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency as the “greatest honour” of his life.
He also said he was living the American dream, “and anyone who thinks the American dream is dead, look right here. You are talking to a first-generation Indian who is about to lead the law enforcement agency of the greatest nation on earth. That can’t happen anywhere else”.
Patel also made a strong commitment towards his work within the FBI and promised that there would be accountability both inside and outside of the federal agency.
After Patel’s oath ceremony, the White House posted on its X account, “It’s time we restore integrity and justice at the FBI. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!”
🇺🇸 @FBIDirectorKash has officially been sworn in as the Director of the FBI by @AGPamBondi.
It’s time we restore integrity and justice at the FBI. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/XCyo6HzThf
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 21, 2025
US President Donald Trump, while speaking to reporters ahead of Patel’s oath ceremony, said, “I think he’ll go down as the best ever at that position,” adding that the “agents love this guy”.
“Turned out he was very easy to get approved. He is a tough and strong guy. He has his opinions. Trey Gowdy came out with an incredible statement and said that Kash is an incredible person and people’s don’t realise it. When he said that, there was no doubt left. It was a big statement made by someone who is respected and is on the moderate side,” Trump added.
However, the Democrats did not seem very happy with Patel’s appointment, sounding alarms that they fear he will work as a Trump loyalist and abuse the FBI’s powers to go after the adversaries of the president. They even cited past comments from before Patel’s nomination where he had said that he would “come after” anti-Trump “conspirators” in the government and media.
At his confirmation hearing, Patel sought to clarify all these concerns and said that he intended to follow the Constitution, with no intention in pursuing any retribution. Patel also said at his oath ceremony that some reports about him were “fake, malicious, slanderous and defamatory”.
Notably, Patel has also expressed his desire to implement severe changes at the FBI, including a reduced footprint in Washington and renewing emphasis on the bureau’s traditional crime-fighting duties rather than the intelligence-gathering work that has come to define its status over the past two decades.
On Friday, Patel also said that the FBI’s “national security mission” was as important as its efforts to fight violent crimes and drug overdoses.
“Anyone that wishes to do harm to our way of life and our citizens, here and abroad, will face the full wrath of the DOJ and FBI,” Patel said, adding that “if you seek to hide in any corner of this country or planet, we will put on the world’s largest manhunt and we will find you and we will decide your end-state”.
Patel, a former Justice Department counterterrorism prosecutor, was nominated to replace Christopher Wray as the FBI director in November.