Kash Patel faces House grilling after tense Senate clashes over Kirk assassination

FBI Director Kash Patel is set to testify before House lawmakers on Wednesday in a hearing expected to focus on the bureau’s dramatic reforms in the second Trump administration and the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Patel will face questions in five-minute rounds from Republicans and Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee as part of an annual oversight hearing, marking the director’s second appearance in as many days on Capitol Hill after he testified before the Senate one day prior.

House Judiciary Committee Republicans have long been focused on government weaponization at the FBI and are expected to revive those concerns, which were long a focus for them during FBI Director Christopher Wray’s tenure, according to a source familiar with the plans.

‘MOST TRANSPARENT’ FBI EVER: PATEL UPDATES SENATE ON KIRK ASSASSINATION PROBE

Patel, meanwhile, is likely to face sharp criticism and tough questions from House Democrats, who have raised concerns this year about controversial firings of senior FBI officials and the shifting of priorities at the FBI toward immigration enforcement, which typically is handled by the Department of Homeland Security.

Patel addressed similar concerns from Senate Democrats one day prior, as they zeroed in on Patel’s limited law enforcement experience and accusations that the firings of top FBI officials had happened without proper due process.

Patel, a former public defender who worked in the first Trump administration, said out of the gate that he is in his job to stay.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Patel said Wednesday. “If you want to criticize my 16 years of service, please bring it on.”

The director is also likely to face bipartisan questions about the FBI’s investigation into Charlie Kirk’s assassination, which involved an early-stage misstep on Patel’s end before the suspect, Tyler Robinson, was apprehended some 33 hours after the incident.

The Department of Justice’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking case is another topic expected to crop up. President Donald Trump’s base has long demanded more information about the case, but in a turnabout, DOJ leadership said this year there was nothing further they could disclose to the public about it.