When asked about the revelations at the press conference, Patel initially countered with a performance review on his own behalf. “This FBI director served twice as many days as any other FBI director before me. That means I took twice as few days off as those before me. That means I took only a third as many vacation days as those before me. That also means this FBI and this Department of Justice managed to reduce the murder rate by 20 percent compared to the Biden administration. I’m always on duty, I’m the first to arrive and the last to leave.”
But these claims weren’t enough for NBC reporter Ryan Reilly. He probed. “What did you think when you couldn’t log into the system. Did you think you were fired?” Patel replied: “Let’s do a poll, how many people do you think believe you?” Reilly persisted: “Please answer the question.” Patel now got personal: “The problem with you and your baseless reporting is that it is a complete lie. It was never said and it never happened. And I will serve in this administration for as long as the President sees fit.”
But some people already believe that the likelihood of Patel remaining in office is in the tens of thousands. “We’re all just waiting for it to become official” that Patel is losing his top job, investigative journalist Fitzpatrick quoted a senior FBI official as saying. Another said Patel was “rightly paranoid.” Apparently there are rumblings not only in the security agency, but also in the White House when it comes to the FBI chief.
At the beginning of April, Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, Patel’s superior, an important cabinet member. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was previously fired. This week, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned after several scandals emerged. Patel, insiders suspect, could be next.
But he defends himself against the threat of resignation. Patel, a former employee of Trump’s company Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates the Truth Social platform, is considered one of the most vocal supporters of MAGA policies. He is uncompromisingly pushing forward the president’s agenda and has apparently made it his mission to go after the Republican’s political opponents using every means possible. Especially Democrats, but also everyone else who doesn’t bend to Trump’s will.
