From J. Edgar Hoover authorizing extensive surveillance of Martin Luther King, Jr. to James Comey relaunching a misguided investigation of Hillary Clinton days before the 2016 election, many of the eight previous non-interim FBI directors have shown terrible judgment. But Kash Patel may have established himself, in less than a year, as the worst FBI director ever. He spent 2025 undermining the bureau’s legitimate investigations while launching illegitimate ones, forcing out some of its best employees while installing cronies, and forcing some of the nation’s most skilled law enforcement personnel to act as chauffeurs for Patel’s girlfriend and her friends.

Even in an administration stocked with unqualified, unethical people in top jobs, personified by Donald Trump himself, Patel stands out. A 115-page report from a group of former and current FBI special agents and analysts that became public a few weeks ago slammed Patel for his lack of experience, “obsession with social media,” and creation of a “culture of fear and paralysis” at the bureau. And his critics brought receipts. The most shocking was that Patel, in Utah after the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, allegedly refused to get off his plane until FBI personnel provided him a raid jacket to his liking.

That was not just any jacket. FBI agents scrambled to find a medium-sized one, because Patel would not wear the large and extra-larges that were available. They eventually had to force a female agent to give up hers,........

© New Republic