Kash Patel Tells the Senate Judiciary Committee the FBI Dropped Its Automatic Bar on Applicants With Bestiality Histories Because "We Did Not Want to Punish Victims" — John Kennedy Asks "What Planet Did You Parachute In From?," and When Cory Booker Calls Him "a Mockery," Patel Answers "You Are the Biggest Mockery in the United States Senate"
On September 15, 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for its annual oversight hearing, seven weeks before the midterm elections. Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) opened by crediting Patel with managing "many challenges, both internal and external." Ranking member Dick Durbin (D-IL) called him "the least qualified and most partisan FBI director in our nation's history," accusing him of turning the bureau toward the president's grievances, including false claims about the 2020 election, and of having "gutted" hiring standards. The hiring standards dominated much of the hearing. CBS News had reported that the FBI no longer automatically disqualifies applicants who have engaged in bestiality or sex solicitation. Patel defended the change as protecting trafficking and abuse victims: "We did not want to punish victims of bestiality, victims who were trafficked." Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) asked why Patel had not asked the official who recommended it "what planet did you parachute in from?" Senators also pressed Patel over The Atlantic's reporting on his drinking, which he denies and over which he has sued the magazine; his use of a government jet to attend the Winter Olympics in Italy; the removal of agents who worked on Iran; and the midterms. Asked by Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) to pledge not to interfere with the November election, Patel said he would "not participate in your charade of lies." After Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) called him an "incompetent lackey," the two traded insults, with Patel telling Booker "You are the biggest mockery in the United States Senate, and you're sitting next to Schiff."
“You damn well better preserve records, because we're going to be investigating all these hundreds of wrongful terminations, and we're going to hold you accountable. … I fully expect that he will lie to the Congress and hope that he doesn't get caught – but we will be investigating. … None of it passes the smell test.”