GOP Sen. Mike Rounds, RSD, announced his support for FBI Director Christopher Wray on Sunday, just one day after President-elect Donald Trump. He said that he will nominate Kash Patel to lead the agency as Wray’s replacement.
After Watergate, FBI directors typically served 10-year terms to prevent the bureau from being seen as a political tool of the president. Wray was previously nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2017. therefore, Trump would have to fire Wray, or Wray would have to voluntarily resign before 2027 for Patel to take over.
“Chris Wray, the president’s first-time nominee — I think the president picked a very good person to be the director of the FBI when he did it in his first term,” Rounds said during an interview on ABC News’ “This Week.”
“When I met him behind closed doors, I didn’t have any objections to the way he handled himself, and so I have no complaints about how he’s doing his job right now,” Rounds added of Wray.
However, Rounds said the Senate will fairly evaluate Patel and Trump’s other Cabinet nominees during the “consultation and consent” process. Once Patel is formally nominated, he must be confirmed by a majority vote of the full Senate, which cannot happen until after Trump’s inauguration in January.
“The president has the right to make nominations, but usually they are for 10-year terms,” Rounds said. “If he does [nominate Patel]As with anybody nominated for one of these positions, after being nominated by the president, the president, you know, gets the benefit of the doubt in the nomination, but we still go through a process and that process includes consultation and consent.”
Rounds’ colleague, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, did not share Rounds’ concerns, saying on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday morning that he was awaiting Patel’s confirmation.
“Listen, I think Kash Patel is a very strong candidate. I think President Trump’s entire list of Cabinet nominees is very strong,” Cruz said. “I believe every one of these Cabinet nominees will be confirmed by the Senate. I think Kash Patel will be confirmed by the Senate.”
Representatives of Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Rounds’ remarks.
On Sunday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan declined to comment on Patel, but told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that “we, the Biden administration, are following the long-standing norm that FBI directors serve full terms.” We do, because the FBI director is a unique player in the American system of government.
Sullivan noted that Biden allowed Wray to serve throughout his administration despite being a Trump appointee.
“The current director of the FBI, Chris Wray, was actually appointed by Donald Trump. Joe Biden didn’t fire him. He trusted him to carry out his duties as FBI director and allowed him to serve until the end of his term,” Sullivan added.
In a statement Sunday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., echoed Sullivan’s concerns, saying, “We already have an FBI director, Christopher Wray, and his term doesn’t expire until 2027.”
Durbin continued to blast Trump, saying, “President-elect Trump knows this because he nominated Director Wray in 2017 after firing the previous Director, James Comey, another lifelong Republican who failed Trump’s loyalty test. President Biden retained Director Ray.” because the FBI should be isolated from partisanship.”
He also urged the Senate to vote against Patel’s confirmation, saying in a statement: “Now the president-elect wants to replace his appointee with an unprofessional loyalist. The Senate must reject this unprecedented effort to arm the FBI for his campaign. Donald Trump’s promised revenge.” “