Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now President-elect Donald Trump plans to fire FBI Director Christopher Wray, and replace him with Kash Patel. Patel has been a staunch Trump supporter for years and served in his first administration under a number of roles. ABC's Christiane Cordero has more.
Christiane Cordero (00:19):
Reaction on Capitol Hill following President-elect Trump's announcement to nominate Kash Patel, a longtime loyalist as the next FBI director.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Every president has the opportunity to decide who he wants to offer a nomination for. It doesn't surprise me that he will pick people that he believes are very loyal to himself.
Christiane Cordero (00:37):
Patel has openly discussed using the federal government to retaliate against Trump's political enemies. He's also promoted conspiracy theories of a deep state and even embraced QAnon. The president-elect says he plans to fire current FBI Director Christopher Wray, who still has three years left on his 10-year contract. Trump nominated Wray to the post in 2017.
(00:57)
An FBI spokesperson says, "Wray's focus remains on the men and women of the FBI and protecting Americans." Following Patel's announcement, former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who's had a long-running feud with Trump and was fired by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke with CNN.
Andrew McCabe (01:14):
It's a terrible development for the men and women of the FBI and also for the nation that depends on a highly functioning, professional, independent Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Christiane Cordero (01:27):
Patel rose to prominence as an aide to former Congressman Devin Nunes, trying to push back against the Russia investigation during Trump's first term. He also took top intelligence roles and briefly served as the Pentagon's chief of staff in 2020. His appointment would need to be approved by the Senate.
(01:43)
In addition to Patel, Trump nominated Charles Kushner, the Father-in-law of his daughter, Ivanka as US ambassador to France. During the final days of his presidency, Trump pardoned Kushner, who was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering.
(02:00)
The President-elect also announcing Massad Boulos, father-in-law of his daughter Tiffany, as senior advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs. In the final stretch of the campaign, Boulos helped Trump create inroads with the Arab-American community. Christiane Cordero, ABC News, Washington.