Former National Security Adviser John Bolton Calls for Senate to Reject Kash Patel’s FBI Director Nomination, Comparing Him to Josef Stalin’s Henchman
President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel to be the next FBI director has been met with criticism from a former national security adviser. John Bolton, who served in the Trump administration, has come out against the pick, likening it to the Soviet Union’s brutal regime under Josef Stalin.
In a statement to NBC News, Bolton said, “Trump has nominated Kash Patel to be his Lavrenty Beria. The Senate should reject this nomination 100-0.”
Bolton’s comparison is particularly apt, as Lavrentiy Beria was the head of the Soviet secret police under Stalin, implementing widespread surveillance, repression, and terror. Bolton believes the nomination is a disservice to the FBI, which he notes is not the equivalent of the Soviet secret police.
Trump announced Patel’s nomination on Saturday, calling him a “brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter.” Patel served as the senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the Trump administration and is known for his support for the “America First” movement.
Patel has been vocal about his intentions to reform the FBI, stating that he would “shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day one and reopen the next day as a museum of the deep state.” He has also written a book on the topic of government corruption and the deep state.
It is not the first time Bolton has criticized a Trump pick. In November, he condemned the nomination of Rep. Matt Gaetz to U.S. attorney general, calling it “the worst nomination for a Cabinet position in American history.”