Biden administration national security adviser Jake Sullivan dodged answering whether he's concerned over President-elect Trump naming Kash Patel as his pick to lead the FBI after Patel listed Sullivan as a member of the "deep state" in a book published last year.
"Kash Patel also published a book where he listed people who are part of the deep state. Your name is on that list. Would it concern you to have him have all the powers of federal investigations. And would you fear personal retribution?" CNN's Kasie Hunt asked Sullivan Sunday during an interview on "State of the Union."
Sullivan brushed off being listed in Patel's book, "Government Gangsters," and instead said he's focused on his final days in office before Trump is sworn in as president on Jan. 20.
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"Look, I wake up every day to try to defend this country and protect the national interest. I got 50 days left. I'm going to stay totally focused on every single one of those days to make sure that we have a smooth handoff to the next team, and we put them in the best strategic position possible. And I can't spend my time worrying about other things at this point," Sullivan said.
Patel published "Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy" last year, which Trump lauded as a "roadmap" to exposing bad actors in the government and a "blueprint to help us take back the White House and remove these Gangsters from all of Government."
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"Things are bad. There’s no denying it. The FBI has gravely abused its power, threatening not only the rule of law, but the very foundations of self-government at the root of our democracy. But this isn’t the end of the story. Change is possible at the FBI and desperately needed," Patel wrote in the book, detailing the state of the FBI.
Within the book, Patel provided an alphabetical list of alleged "deep state" members who are either currently or formerly employed in the executive branch. Sullivan is included on the long list, as are other Biden officials such as Attorney General Merrick Garland, Vice President Kamala Harris and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Wray served under both the Trump and Biden administrations.
Trump named Patel as his pick for FBI chief on Saturday. Hunt asked Sullivan for his reaction the following morning while noting that Patel is a "fierce Trump loyalist" who has vowed to target the deep states. Sullivan brushed off the question by focusing on Wray's work as FBI chief.
"I'm not going to speak to President-elect Trump's nominees. I'll let him speak for his own rationale. What I will say is how the Biden administration has approached the position of FBI director. We inherited Director Chris Wray, who has done a very good job in the role, from President-elect Trump, who appointed him to a 10-year term. And what makes the FBI director different from most other nominees, is they're not just appointed for one term of a president," he said.
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"They're appointed for enough time to last past two terms of a president, because they're supposed to be insulated from politics. President Biden scrupulously adhered to that long-standing bipartisan tradition and for a good reason, because the FBI director should not be subject to the whims of the tos and fros of politics," he continued.
Wray would need to resign or be fired from the FBI in order for Patel to actually assume the position. The Senate would also need to confirm Patel before he could move into the new role.
