Kash Patel is facing a Senate grilling on Tuesday that will undoubtedly focus on the FBI‘s manhunt for Charlie Kirk’s assassin.
While the saga of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein has dominated Washington and the media in recent months, Kirk’s assassination has now taken center stage.
Director Patel was scheduled to appear on Capitol Hill this week before the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and now he will undoubtedly face a slew of questions over his agency’s conduct during the search for his murder.
Prominent conservatives have blasted Patel for his handling of the investigation, which included three botched arrests.
The killer’s capture was announced almost 44 hours after he shot Kirk – and only after his own father turned him in.
Christopher Rufo, a fellow at the conservative think-tank the Manhattan Institute, wrote on X Friday that it was ‘time for Republicans to assess whether Kash Patel is the right man to run the FBI’.
Rufo also added that Patel ‘performed terribly in the last few days, and it’s not clear whether he has the operational expertise to investigate, infiltrate, and disrupt the violent movements—of whatever ideology—that threaten the peace in the United States.’
Christian conservative radio host Erick Erickson also weighed in, wrote on X that the ‘FBI situation is concerning.’
Commentator Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, U.S. on September 10, 2025 moments before he was assassinated
FBI Director Kash Patel attends a press conference at the Utah Valley University, after U.S. activist and commentator, Charlie Kirk, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was fatally shot during an event at the university, in Orem, Utah, U.S. September 11, 2025.
National Review writer Michael Brendan Dougherty did not call out Patel explicitly but noted on X, ‘so the killer’s dad does all the work, then law enforcement congratulates themselves and each other and heads out for celebratory beers.’
‘Are they going to look into this Discord chat? The roommate? The press that can’t even quote Kirk accurately concludes the killer “self-radicalized” and I’m supposed to take that at face value? That’s it?,’ questioned Dougherty.
President Donald Trump however, had a different take on the way that the hunt played out: ‘I am very proud of the FBI. Kash—and everyone else— they have done a great job,’ Trump told Fox News.
X user Pro America Politics also posted in favor of Patel, writing ‘we aren’t firing Kash Patel. Stop. The FBI arrested this killer within 48 hours. This was an excellent job. I have a 100% faith in Kash Patel.’
Patel was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the post of FBI director with a vote of 51 to 49 on the 20th of February of this year, precisely one month after Trump was inaugurated for a second term. Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska opposed his nomination.
His time at the agency has been marred in controversy, most notably by the agency’s refusal to release all files connected to Jeffrey Epstein. Both Patel and Trump previously promised to release the Epstein Files.
This photo released by the Utah Governor’s Office on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025 shows Tyler Robinson
