President-elect Donald Trump announced his decision to replace the current FBI director with former Chief of Staff to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Kash Patel. 

This gives Patel power to carry out Trump’s threats to go after political opponents. In 2016, during Trump’s political campaign, Patel was a very active and vocal critic of the agency after it investigated ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia. 

For years, Patel has supported Trump through his campaigns. He was one of the few supporters of Trump during his criminal trial. Patel has vowed through public statements that he will transform the FBI and its mission.