By the Republicans' own logic, Kash Patel is a “DEI” appointment, a minority candidate who lacks even the basic qualifications to run the FBI.

Schiff and Padilla have been aggressively critical of Patel since President Donald Trump nominated him. The senators have charged he’s a conspiracy theorist, and Schiff was named in Patel’s 2023 book as one of Washington’s “corrupt actors of the first order.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted along party lines to advance the nomination of Kash Patel for FBI director.