Kash Patel Grilled by Democrats Over Allegations and Budget
Kash Patel , the FBI director, got absolutely grilled by Democrats on Tuesday in the Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. It was tense. They were digging into stuff—allegations about excessive drinking, weird behavior, and using government resources.
This all happened while Patel was trying to defend the Trump administration’s proposed $12.5 billion budget for the FBI for 2027. A real standoff, you know?
Democrats brought up something from last month. A report from The Atlantic . They claimed there were episodes of “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences.” Things that spooked people inside the FBI and the Justice Department.
Senator Chris Van Hollen, he was pretty intense. He called the allegations “extremely alarming.” He suggested it looked like a “gross dereliction” of duty. A total betrayal of public trust.
And he didn’t stop there. Hollen brought up some really wild claims. He said Patel had been so drunk and so hungover that staff allegedly had to physically force their way into his home.
“These reports about your conduct,” Hollen pressed, “including the stuff about being so drunk and hungover that your staff had to force entry into your home—that’s extremely alarming. It shows a gross dereliction of duty and a betrayal of public trust.”
Patel just shot back. He said, “I will not be tarnished by baseless allegations.”
He actually filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and the reporter who wrote that piece. The magazine just said they stand by what they reported. That’s the mess right there.
Then Patel threw a curveball. He told the senator something sharp. He alleged that the only person slinging margaritas in El Salvador using taxpayer dollars with a convicted gangbanging rapist was Van Hollen.
Hollen immediately dismissed that. He said it was “provably false.” He pointed out that the dinner Patel was talking about involved dozens of people, not public money. Photos showed cocktail glasses, sure, but Van Hollen claimed the drinks were placed there by Salvadoran officials.
The questioning kept moving. At one point, Hollen actually challenged Patel to take an alcohol dependency test, the kind used in the military. Patel just shrugged it off. “I’ll take any test you’re willing to. Let’s go. Side by side.”
The hearing wandered. It touched on Patel’s trip to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. He was seen celebrating with the gold medal hockey team. Patel defended the trip. He said it was connected to trying to bring a suspected Chinese cybercriminal from Italy over to the United States.
Other Democrats weren't holding back either. They criticized his spending, his priorities. Patty Murray was pretty harsh. She mocked him, saying, “If you want to pass out liquor or pop bottles in a locker room, stick to podcasting.”
It just felt like a total mess of accusations and denials. No clear path forward. Just noise.
Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board
Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.
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