Kash Patel, Democratic senator trade alcohol-related allegations at congressional hearing

The FBI director and Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland got into a heated exchange during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.

FBI Director Kash Patel got into a heated exchange with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., at a Senate hearing Tuesday that included accusations of overconsumption of alcohol and day-drinking.

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The remarkable back-and-forth took place during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee discussion of the FBI’s budget and ended with the two agreeing to a challenge to undergo a drinking “audit.”

“Reports of your being so drunk and hungover that your staff had to force entry into your home are extremely alarming,” Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the panel, said in his opening statement. “If true, they represent a gross dereliction of your duty.”