The FBI braces for a shakeup under Trump loyalist Kash Patel

Patel has promised to “rebuild” the FBI, with many Republicans — who allege the agency has been weaponized against conservatives — hoping he will oversee its shakeup, the BBC wrote. Up to six top FBI executives have been told to expect reassignment or even removal, an “opening salvo” in Patel’s wider plans to shrink the agency’s Washington headquarters, which he said he’d “shut down” on day one and “reopen the next day as a museum of the deep state,” Bloomberg reported.

Media outlets on both sides of the aisle are concerned that Patel’s rhetoric — he vowed in 2023 to “come after” journalists “who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections” — could have a chilling effect on reporting, NBC News reported. Before Trump’s inauguration, the Columbia Journalism Review suggested that his administration could use the Espionage Act to target journalists, especially since “what is and is not a state secret is a matter of presidential whim.” While the FBI or the Department of Justice cannot create statutes with which to criminally charge journalists, Patel’s appointment nevertheless raises red flags for those on national security beats if the FBI moves to prosecute journalists who publish classified documents, The Independent noted.

Fears of mass layoffs have “distracted and destabilized” the FBI workforce, current and former federal law enforcement officials told NBC News, fueled by concerns that the Trump administration could crack down on agents involved in investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. The potential removal of agents who work in the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division would undermine the agency’s ability to combat terrorist threats, the outlet reported. The threat of retaliation could also weaken the FBI’s appetite to investigate future cases involving the Trump administration, increasing the risk of corruption: “You’re putting everyone on notice,” a former FBI official said. “They’re saying, ‘we’re watching you.’”