Kash Patel
Tensions flared during a US Senate hearing after FBI director Kash Patel pushed back against allegations about his drinking habits raised by a Democratic senator.Patel clashed with Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, where lawmakers questioned top Justice Department officials over their 2027 budget requests.The confrontation began when Van Hollen referred to recent reports alleging Patel had engaged in excessive drinking and had shown troubling behaviour while serving as FBI director.“Director Patel, I don’t care one bit about your private life,” Van Hollen told the hearing.He added: “I don’t give a damn what you do on your own time and your own dime, unless and until it interferes with your public responsibilities.”The senator then referenced reports claiming Patel had at times been “so drunk and so hungover that your staff had to force entry into your home”.Patel denied the allegations and accused Van Hollen of hypocrisy. Speaking over the senator several times, the FBI chief brought up Van Hollen’s earlier meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man who was wrongfully deported by the US government last year.Patel accused the senator of “slinging margaritas” with a known felon and using $7,000 at a bar using taxpayers’ money. Van Hollen fired back: “The fact that you mentioned that indicates that you don’t know what you are talking about.”The argument continued as both men repeatedly interrupted one another. Van Hollen later challenged Patel to undergo a test similar to those used in the military to assess alcohol dependency.“I’ll take any test you’re willing to,” Patel replied. He added: “Let’s go. Side by side.”At one point during the hearing, Patel’s FBI X account posted a Federal Election Commission filing related to the dinner Patel had criticised.“The next time you run up a $7,000 bar tab, we can talk about it,” Patel said.Van Hollen denied any misuse of public funds and said the dinner in question was attended by around 50 people and was not paid for with taxpayer money.“You are a disgrace,” the senator concluded.The clash followed a recent report by The Atlantic, which alleged Patel had annoyed colleagues with “episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences”. Patel has since filed a lawsuit against the publication, calling the allegations false and insisting he has never been drunk while at work.The hearing also touched on Patel’s controversial visit to Italy earlier this year, where he was seen celebrating and drinking with the gold medal-winning US men’s hockey team during the Olympics.Senator Chris Coons asked Patel about criticism surrounding the trip, but the FBI director defended the visit, saying it he went there to bring back a suspected Chinese cybercriminal from Italy to US.Patel said the man was accused by US prosecutors of helping Chinese intelligence steal Covid-19 vaccine research and had recently been deported to the US.Other Democratic lawmakers also criticised Patel’s conduct.“If you want to pass out liquor or pop bottles in a locker room, stick to podcasting,” Senator Patty Murray told him.He added: “Leave law and order to people who really do care about justice and appearances.”
