President-elect Trump's wish to make Kash Patel the next director of the FBI would be a serious mistake that could haunt America for decades, writes historian and journalist Garrett M. Graff in a New York Times op-ed. Patel's only qualification for the post seems to be that he is fiercely loyal to Trump and willing to do his bidding, writes Graff. He argues that the agency has a long history of independence in its post-Hoover years, in part because directors serve 10-year terms that overlap presidencies. (Trump wants to break with that tradition and oust current director Christopher Wray three years early.)
"What this independence illustrates is that the FBI is not, as many MAGA loyalists believe, some liberal bastion of wokeness," writes Graff, who points out that no Democrat has ever served as permanent director of the agency. "Trump has been clear in what he is trying to do with a nominee like Mr. Patel: He wants to bend and break the bureau and weaponize it against those he sees as his political enemies and domestic critics," writes Graff. Putting someone like Patel in charge even for a few years "could cause grave, lasting harm to the institution," he adds. That harm would come from the promotion of like-minded people into top positions, with those choices shaping "the bureau for decades." (Read the full op-ed.)
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