FBI nominee Kash Patel said in his 2023 book that Adam Schiff was one of Washington’s “corrupt actors of the first order.” Thursday, Schiff, now a U.S. senator and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was given the opportunity to grill his detractor. And he did so, relentlessly.

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, faces what could be a contentious confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, with questions expected over his experience level, brash rhetoric and concerns he would deploy the bureau to target the president’s foes.

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director, faced a heated confirmation hearing as Democrats zeroed in on his past comments.

Outside a hearing room in the Hart Senate Office Building, there was a long line of expectant MAGA supporters. Many had been waiting for hours, hoping to witness a defining moment ushering in a Trumpian takeover of one of the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agencies.

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s nominee for a 10-year term as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, distanced himself on Thursday from Trump’s sweeping pardon of Jan. 6 rioters, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee he did not think violent rioters who assaulted law enforcement deserved a break.