Kash Patel has called for radical changes at the FBI and was a fierce and vocal critic of the bureau’s work as it investigated ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Now the steadfast Trump ally has been tapped to lead the federal law enforcement agency he’s pushed to overhaul. Patel has found common cause with Trump over their shared skepticism of government surveillance and the “deep state” — a pejorative catchall used by Trump to refer to government bureaucracy. Their close bond would depart from the modern-day precedent of FBI directors looking to keep presidents at arm’s length.
