FBI Director Kash Patel faces grilling over Charlie Kirk killing case and bureau turmoil

FBI Director Kash Patel is headed for a bruising week on Capitol Hill as lawmakers prepare to question him about the bureau’s handling of the high-profile killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk — and his rocky start running the agency.

Patel is scheduled to testify Tuesday and Wednesday before both the Senate and House judiciary committees. Members of Congress are expected to press him not only on the Kirk investigation but also on whether he can steady an FBI shaken by political fights, lawsuits, and internal upheaval since his appointment.

The scrutiny comes after Patel falsely announced on social media that “the subject” in the Kirk case was in custody. That post went out while agents were still searching for the suspect. He later corrected himself, saying the person had been released. Critics called the blunder “amateur hour.”

US President Donald Trump praised Patel for the speed with which agents eventually arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson for Kirk’s killing. But even some conservatives have begun questioning whether Patel has the operational chops to run the country’s top law-enforcement agency.

Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, wrote on X that it was “time for Republicans to assess whether Kash Patel is the right man to run the FBI.” Conservative commentator Erick Erickson echoed that “the FBI situation is concerning.”

Patel’s missteps came amid wider turbulence at the bureau. He faces a lawsuit from three senior executives fired in what they describe as a politically driven purge, and he’s under pressure over a realignment of FBI resources that prioritises immigration enforcement and street crime.

According to the Associated Press, Patel vented to staff last Thursday about not being promptly shown a photograph of the suspected shooter. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, a Republican, publicly called Patel’s handling of the situation “amateur hour” and questioned his professionalism.

The director’s hearing will also probe his role in pursuing Trump-era grievances, as well as his ties to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now serving as secretary of Health and Human Services, who helped elevate Patel to the FBI’s top job.

Former FBI congressional affairs chief Gregory Brower summed up the stakes:

“Because of the scepticism that some members of the Senate have had and still have, it’s extremely important that he perform very well at these oversight hearings.”

The FBI has declined to comment ahead of Patel’s testimony.