United States President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to tap loyalist Kash Patel to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a pick that is expected to disrupt the agency and put Trump’s political adversaries in the crosshairs.

Trump announced the decision in a post on his Truth Social network on Saturday, saying Patel, who wants to downsize the top intelligence body and pursue “conspirators” in the government and media, would restore “fidelity, bravery and integrity” to the agency.

“Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump wrote.

‘Housecleaning’

The announcement means current FBI Director Christopher Wray must either resign or be fired after Trump takes office on January 20.

Although Wray is serving a 10-year term, his removal is not surprising given Trump’s longstanding public criticism of him and the FBI. Wray, who replaced Jim Comey, led the FBI as it investigated Trump for alleged obstruction of justice and raided his Mar-a-Lago estate for classified documents, leading to indictments.

The decision sets up what is likely to be an explosive confirmation battle in the Senate, which must approve the appointment, not long after Trump’s plan to have another trusted ally, Matt Gaetz, lead the Department of Justice fell through.

Patel is a lesser-known figure, but his nomination is still expected to cause shockwaves. He has embraced Trump’s rhetoric about a “deep state”, called for a “comprehensive housecleaning” of government workers who are disloyal to Trump and has referred to journalists as traitors, promising to try to prosecute some. He has also pledged he would shut down the FBI’s Washington headquarters and “reopen it the next day as a museum of the ‘deep state’”.

A son of Indian immigrants, Patel served in several high-level posts during Trump’s first term, including as a national security adviser and as chief of staff to the acting defence secretary.

“Kash did an incredible job during my First Term,” Trump said, adding that the nominee would work to “end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border”.

Kash Patel, former chief of staff to then-acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, is followed by reporters as he departs from a deposition meeting on Capitol Hill, December 9, 2021, Washington, DC [Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images via AFP]

During the final months of Trump’s first term, he unsuccessfully pushed the idea of installing Patel as the deputy director of either the FBI or CIA. William Barr, Trump’s attorney general, wrote in his memoir that he told then-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that an appointment to Patel as deputy FBI director would happen “over my dead body”.

“Patel had virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world’s pre-eminent law enforcement agency,” Barr wrote.

Trump names next DEA chief

Trump also announced on Saturday that he would nominate Sheriff Chad Chronister, the top law enforcement officer in Hillsborough County, Florida, to serve as the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). He has worked closely with Trump’s choice for attorney general, Pam Bondi.

“Chad will work with our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to secure the Border, stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs, across the Southern Border, and SAVE LIVES,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The FBI is the investigative arm of the Justice Department, while the DEA also falls under its purview.

The appointments of Bondi and Patel indicate that Trump is interested in lining up closely aligned appointees willing to carry out his vision and policy inclinations.