President-elect Trump's nomination of Kash Patel to take over as FBI director — effectively firing current FBI Director Christopher Wray, who still has three years left in his 10-year term — has set off a firestorm on Capitol Hill.

Several Senate Republicans have already come out in support of his nomination, such as Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Bill Hagerty (Tenn.), but other Republicans are on the fence.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a prominent moderate and member of the Appropriations subcommittee that funds the FBI, said she would have to pore over Patel’s record.

She said he’s “a nominee I will have to do a lot of work on” when asked about Patel’s more controversial proposals such as shutting down the FBI’s headquarters in Washington and firing its top ranks.

“That’s why it’s so important that we have an FBI background check, a committee review with extensive questions and questionnaires and a public hearing,” Collins said.

Asked about Patel’s nomination, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said his staff is “digging into some of the work that he did in various roles of the Trump administration, what he’s done after that.”

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Patel would get a rigorous vetting in the Senate, as would Trump’s other nominees.

“My job is to make sure that the nominees have a thorough, fair process and ultimately our members are going to decide,” he said.

Senate Republicans will control 53 seats next year and can’t afford more than three defections from within their conference on any nominee they try to confirm.

A sensitive question for Republicans weighing Patel’s nomination is whether to insist on an FBI background check for the person who could possibly lead the nation’s premier law enforcement agency over the next decade.

Thune said he hopes the Trump transition team will resolve its impasse with the Department of Justice over granting the FBI authority to conduct background checks of the nominees.

“Hopefully at some point they’ll get this background check issue resolved,” he said. “At this point, I’m not sure exactly how it’s........

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