Five Questions FBI Director Nominee Kash Patel Must Answer on Guns

WASHINGTON — Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing for President Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel — a dangerous extremist who has promised to weaponize his power to go after Trump’s political opponents. 

At an August 2024 conference for extremist gun group Gun Owners of America (GOA), Patel told the crowd that his mission “is to take your mission and spread it across America.” GOA is a far-right group that has called to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and opposes all forms of background checks for gun sales. For years, GOA has associated with anti-government and white supremacist leaders, and has spread conspiracy theories that claim that mass shootings were “false flags.”

“Kash Patel is an extremist who would weaponize the FBI and impose the firearm lobby’s ‘guns everywhere’ agenda on an agency responsible for keeping our communities safe,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We need an FBI Director who supports the FBI’s mission to keep guns out of the wrong hands and drive down violent crime, and our leaders should oppose his nomination.”

Here are five questions Kash Patel must answer on guns: 

1. The men and women of the FBI played a leading role in bringing to justice January 6th insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol, attacked police, and attempted to sabotage the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election. President Trump’s blanket pardon applies to those who committed acts of violence against law enforcement and a half dozen defendants charged with gun crimes. Do you support President Trump’s pardoning of violent January 6th insurrectionists, including those with gun charges?
2. At a conference for GOA last year, you said that law enforcement would “go out the door with the Constitution” if Harris was elected — but you’ve aligned yourself with organizations that want to abolish ATF.  This is the nation’s leading law enforcement agency when it comes to protecting the public from gun violence and solving gun crimes. Do you support abolishing ATF?
3. Without strong leadership at the FBI, state and local law enforcement won’t have the support needed to protect communities from violent crime. When guns are everywhere for everyone, it makes law enforcement’s job even more dangerous. How will you ensure the safety of our law enforcement if you plan to bring the gun lobby’s ‘guns everywhere’ agenda to the FBI?
4. 2022’s Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) — which made historic investments in mental health, school safety, and gun violence prevention programs  — was supported by 14 House Republicans and 15 Republican senators. It’s already saving lives — violent crime has dropped to a near 50-year low. Do you support repealing BSCA?
5. The FBI’s mission is to protect the public from violent crime. Every day, 125 people in the U.S. are killed with guns and more than 200 are shot and wounded. There is research that proves that common sense gun safety laws save lives — but you’ve aligned yourself with a group that believes all gun laws are unconstitutional. Do you support any gun safety laws that will keep guns out of dangerous hands?