Trump’s FBI pick opposes warrant requirement for contested spying power

Kash Patel, nominee to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC on January 30, 2025. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kash Patel said a warrant for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act “is just not comported with the requirement to protect American citizenry.”
Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, told lawmakers that a much desired reform measure for a controversial spying authority would be incompatible with the law, reversing course on past views he’s held about reforming the spying ordinance that the intelligence community has largely deemed vital for U.S. national security.
The statute — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which authorizes warrantless data collection on foreigners abroad — arose in his confirmation hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
Civil liberties groups and privacy advocates have called for a key reform to Section 702 — a warrant requirement for querying data on U.S. persons. They argue that, as it stands, the law allows the intelligence community to bypass the Fourth Amendment by accessing Americans’ communications without a warrant. The 702 ordinance permits collection of American communications data if a foreign target is incidentally talking to a U.S. person.
“The issue, for me, is not with FISA and 702, the issue has been those that have been in government service and abused it in the past,” Patel said during his testimony. “And so we must work with Congress to provide the protections necessary for American citizens dealing with these matters, including hostage rescue operations in real time, which we use FISA collection to find and save American hostages."
Patel referenced a 2022 report released by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that documented some 278,000 instances of the FBI’s improper queries in U.S. person databases via 702, including searching for information on Americans suspected of crimes.
But he noted that “having a warrant requirement to go through that information in real time is just not comported with the requirement to protect American citizenry. I’m all open to working with Congress on finding a better way forward, but right now these improvements that you’ve made go a long way,” he said, referring to when 702 was reauthorized this past April with other reforms codified into it.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., questioned Patel on comments he made about the reauthorization on a September 2024 episode of the Shawn Ryan podcast: “They bent the knee, they re-authed it.”
During the hearing, Padilla dialed in on Patel’s change in perspective.
“702 is a critical tool, and I'm proud of the reforms that have been implemented, and I'm proud to work with Congress moving forward to implement more reforms,” Patel said.
The FBI’s surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page under Title I of FISA became a political flashpoint after a 2019 Inspector General report found the agency relied on unverified information in obtaining and renewing its surveillance warrant. The 2018 release of the Nunes memo, a Republican House Intelligence Committee report, was co-authored by Patel, and accused the FBI of misusing FISA to target Trump associates.
Many GOP critics cite the case as evidence of FISA abuse, though it notably involved Title I of FISA, which requires a court-approved warrant, rather than Section 702.
Patel’s nomination reflects a broader effort by Trump to reshape the FBI, which he and Patel have long accused of political bias against conservatives. Unlike past directors, who maintained a degree of separation from the White House to preserve the agency’s independence, Patel has been a fixture in Trump’s political and legal battles. His close relationship with the former president has led critics to question whether he would run the FBI impartially or use it to advance Trump’s agenda.
He reiterated his commitment to operate the bureau in an apolitical manner and work with Congress if confirmed as director of the agency during the contentious Thursday hearing.
Unlike previous directors — who have typically had extensive law enforcement or prosecutorial backgrounds — Patel’s career has been defined by his work as a congressional investigator and national security official. He’s been an outspoken critic of the agency for which he is now nominated to lead.
Opening remarks from committee leadership showed a sharp bipartisan division in support for Patel’s nomination, a tone which continued through the hearing. Issues lawmakers asked Patel about ranged from the Jan. 6th Capitol riot and his past comments about COVID-19 and related conspiracy theories, as well financial holdings related to his product promotions.
“The only thing that will matter if I’m confirmed as a director of the FBI is a de-weaponized, de-politicized system of law enforcement completely devoted to rigorous obedience of the constitution and a singular standard of justice,” he testified.