Kash Patel to face grilling over Charlie Kirk investigation and his tenure as FBI director

FBI Director Kash Patel is likely to face scrutiny in Congress about his handling of the Charlie Kirk assassination investigation.

WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel is likely to face intense scrutiny during two congressional hearings this week amid questions about his leadership of the FBI and his handling of the investigation into conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

Patel is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for previously scheduled oversight hearings that will dive into his tenure at the FBI, which has experienced high-level departures and the creation of a co-deputy director position that was filled this week by former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who will work alongside Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Patel’s fellow ex-podcaster.

FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before the House Appropriations Committee on May 7, 2025.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images filePatel faces a lawsuit from three FBI leaders he fired, who say they were unlawfully targeted so Patel could stay in President Donald Trump's good graces. The lawsuit, filed against Patel, as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi, the FBI, the Justice Department and the Executive Office of the President, paints a portrait of Patel as obsessed with social media, particularly X, and worried about keeping his job if he did not remove agents involved in former criminal cases against Trump. The FBI declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Patel has also come under fire for his handling of the Kirk investigation. NBC News first reported that Patel had dinner at the exclusive New York City restaurant Rao’s on the night Kirk was killed. He said on X that night that "the subject for the horrific shooting" was "in custody." Roughly 90 minutes later, he posted that that person had been released.

The next day, Patel flew out to Utah, where Kirk was killed, and he has since touted run-of-the-mill investigative steps, including the decision to release photos of the suspect, which is standard operating procedure for the bureau. In an initial appearance with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, seeking the public's help in finding the shooter, Patel did not make a statement. In a follow-up news conference Friday after a 22-year-old suspect was turned in by a family friend and arrested, Patel showered Trump with praise, crediting his support for the bureau for the arrest.