section_path: Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2025–present)/Nomination and confirmation
section_name: Nomination and confirmation
paragraph_text: Nomination and confirmation
  
  In November 2024, Axios reported that President-elect Donald Trump intended to appoint Patel to a high-profile position in the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Justice. The Wall Street Journal later reported that Trump intended to remove Christopher A. Wray as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, interviewing several candidates for the position, including Patel and former Michigan representative Mike Rogers. Patel was considered as a potential nominee for director of the Central Intelligence Agency, although he faced a narrower path in the Senate. According to The New York Times, Susie Wiles, Trump's campaign manager, believed Patel would be a risky choice to lead the bureau, but Andrew Bailey, the Missouri attorney general, appeared too lackadaisical in meetings. On November 30, Trump announced that he would dismiss Wray and named Patel as his nominee for the position. Wray agreed to resign in December. Before his confirmation hearing, Patel began conducting policy-focused interviews. According to CNN, he was targeted in an Iranian hacking operation that month. In January 2025, nearly two dozen Republican government officials sent a letter to senators urging them to reject Patel's nomination.
  
  Patel appeared before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on January 30. He positioned himself as insulated from Trump, disagreeing with Trump's decision to pardon January 6 Capitol attack defendants. Senator Peter Welch repeatedly asked Patel whether Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election; Patel said that the election was "certified" but did not explicitly say that Biden won. The Judiciary Committee voted to advance his nomination 12–10 along party lines on February 13. In February, Dick Durbin, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, sent the Department of Justice's inspector general a letter accusing Patel of directing dismissals at the bureau that was based on "highly credible information from multiple sources". The allegations, if true, would implicate Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general, as having conducted firings "solely at the behest of a private citizen" and would amount to potential perjury. Patel was also criticized for his shares in Shein 's parent company, a stock award he received from Trump Media & Technology Group, and his work for Qatar through Trishul.
  
  On February 20, Patel was confirmed by the Senate in a 51–49 vote. Every Republican senator except Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted to confirm him and every Democratic senator opposed his nomination. According to The New York Times, several colleagues of Senator Mitch McConnell expected him to oppose Patel's nomination, which would have required Vice President JD Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote. Patel was sworn in the next day by Attorney General Pam Bondi. He took the oath on the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu scripture, held by his presumed partner, Alexis Wilkins.
  
  In November 2024, Axios reported that President-elect Donald Trump intended to appoint Patel to a high-profile position in the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Justice. The Wall Street Journal later reported that Trump intended to remove Christopher A. Wray as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, interviewing several candidates for the position, including Patel and former Michigan representative Mike Rogers. Patel was considered as a potential nominee for director of the Central Intelligence Agency, although he faced a narrower path in the Senate. According to The New York Times, Susie Wiles, Trump's campaign manager, believed Patel would be a risky choice to lead the bureau, but Andrew Bailey, the Missouri attorney general, appeared too lackadaisical in meetings. On November 30, Trump announced that he would dismiss Wray and named Patel as his nominee for the position. Wray agreed to resign in December. Before his confirmation hearing, Patel began conducting policy-focused interviews. According to CNN, he was targeted in an Iranian hacking operation that month. In January 2025, nearly two dozen Republican government officials sent a letter to senators urging them to reject Patel's nomination.
  
  Patel appeared before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on January 30. He positioned himself as insulated from Trump, disagreeing with Trump's decision to pardon January 6 Capitol attack defendants. Senator Peter Welch repeatedly asked Patel whether Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election; Patel said that the election was "certified" but did not explicitly say that Biden won. The Judiciary Committee voted to advance his nomination 12–10 along party lines on February 13. In February, Dick Durbin, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, sent the Department of Justice's inspector general a letter accusing Patel of directing dismissals at the bureau that was based on "highly credible information from multiple sources". The allegations, if true, would implicate Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general, as having conducted firings "solely at the behest of a private citizen" and would amount to potential perjury. Patel was also criticized for his shares in Shein 's parent company, a stock award he received from Trump Media & Technology Group, and his work for Qatar through Trishul.
  
  On February 20, Patel was confirmed by the Senate in a 51–49 vote. Every Republican senator except Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted to confirm him and every Democratic senator opposed his nomination. According to The New York Times, several colleagues of Senator Mitch McConnell expected him to oppose Patel's nomination, which would have required Vice President JD Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote. Patel was sworn in the next day by Attorney General Pam Bondi. He took the oath on the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu scripture, held by his presumed partner, Alexis Wilkins.