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FBI Director Kash Patel is sworn in before testifying during the Senate Judiciary hearing on “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation” on September 15, 2026.<\/span>Bill Clark\/CQ Roll Call\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n In an oversight hearing<\/span> before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel did little to acknowledge the continuing fallout around the firing of agents for their role in investigating President Trump\u2019s alleged mishandling of classified documents<\/a>\u2014even though they were experts in tracking Iranian threats.<\/p>\n Several outlets have<\/a> reported<\/a> that at least a dozen fired FBI counterintelligence staffers belonged to a unit that specializes in investigating potential danger from Iran. The firings took place just days before the Trump administration launched its military campaign against the country in February.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the hearing<\/a>, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) referenced those reports in his questioning: \u201cDo you think firing the president\u2019s political opponents is more important than retaining the decades of experience and expertise monitoring intelligence threats from Iran?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe individuals you are referring to are not experts [on Iran],\u201d the FBI director responded. \u201cI think what\u2019s most important is [to] not have a weaponized FBI, and I will endeavor every single day to make sure we have no one there that is doing that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Blumenthal pointed out that Patel\u2019s firings in effect politicized and weaponized the FBI against its own <\/em>employees\u2014despite previous claims<\/a> that he would not target agents for participating in investigations.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can you make those two statements consistent?\u201d the senator asked. <\/p>\n \u201cSimple. If you weaponize law enforcement, you don\u2019t get to work at the FBI,\u201d Patel said\u2014a remark that doesn\u2019t actually address the question. <\/p>\n