Newly appointed FBI chief Kash Patel is set to be appointed to lead US bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosive (ATF), Fox News reported citing two sources.
This comes after attorney general Pam Bondi dismissed ATF general counsel Pamela Hicks on Thursday following US President Donald Trump ordered the removal of all remaining Biden-era US Attorneys.
Hicks confirmed her exit from ATF in a Linkedin post and said, “I was served official notice from the Attorney General of the United States that I was being removed from my position as the Chief Counsel of ATF and my employment with the department of justice terminated.”
Hicks left the department after completing her 28 years of service. She has also served as the attorney for the Department of Justice.
“Serving as ATF Chief Counsel has been the highest honor of my career and working with the people at ATF and throughout the Department has been a pleasure. I thank my colleagues for their friendship and partnership over the years,” Hicks further said in her social media post.
Patel’s nomination for FBI chief faced opposition from Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, however, he received backing from the rest of the Republican Party, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had previously opposed other Trump nominees.
The confirmation passed with a narrow 51-49 vote, as all Senate Democrats voted against him.
In his swearing-in remark, Patel spoke about the American Dream and how a first-general Indian kid has his American dream fulfilled.
“Anyone who thinks the American Dream is dead, look right here. You’re talking to a first-generation Indian kid who is about to lead the law enforcement community in the greatest nation on God’s Earth,” Patel said.
“I know the media is in here. If you have a target, that target is right here (pointing to himself). It’s not the men and women in the FBI. You have written everything you possibly can about me that is fake, malicious, slanderous and defamatory. Keep it coming, bring it on and leave the men and the women in the FBI out of it. They deserve better,” Patel said.
