U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former aide Kash Patel as his nominee to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), an agency Patel has frequently criticized.
Patel, who previously served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense during Trump’s first administration, is a staunch ally of the incoming Republican president.
For Patel to assume the role, current FBI Director Christopher Wray would need to either step down or be dismissed. However, Trump has not publicly called for Wray’s resignation.
In a separate announcement, Trump revealed plans to nominate Chad Chronister, the sheriff of Hillsborough County, Florida, as the next head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Patel and Chronister join Pam Bondi, Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, as key figures in the president-elect’s law enforcement appointments.
