The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Kash Patel as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a marquee victory in President Trump’s effort to strike back at an agency he has long considered his nemesis.

The final vote was 51-49, with every Senate Democrat voting against Patel. They were joined by two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who said they thought Patel was too overtly political to lead the nation’s top law enforcement agency.

Patel said in a post on X after the vote: “The politicalization of our justice system has eroded public trust—but that ends today. My mission as Director is clear: let good cops be cops—and rebuild trust in the FBI.”

Patel’s confirmation marks a tectonic shift at the bureau, as he plans to shift its focus from terrorism and counterintelligence work back toward its historical mission of fighting violent crime. His priorities, partisan approach and open criticism of the agency he will lead set him apart from most every other director in the bureau’s history.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/kash-patel-trump-fbi-director-senate-confirmation-vote-973476ec