GOP’s Blackburn Explains Why Schiff and Other Democrats Are Worried About Kash Patel as FBI Director
Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, told Fox News that Democrats such as California’s Senator Adam Schiff are “fearful” of Kash Patel possibly heading the FBI because of his in-depth knowledge of their involvement in the “Russian collusion” narrative during President Donald Trump’s administration.
“I think, too they are very fearful of Kash Patel because Kash Patel knows what Adam Schiff and some of the others did with Russia collusion, and they know that he — knows the dirt on them, if you will, and I think they’re fearful of what he’s going to do and what he’s going to reveal and what he’s going to make known to the American people,” Blackburn said during her conversation with host Charlie Hurt.
Hurt agreed, saying, “And they recognize that one thing Kash Patel is very devoted to is bringing transparency to what’s going on in Washington,” which Blackburn confirmed with a nod.
The discussion then turned to how Democrats might react to figures like RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard working alongside Republicans. “So to what degree with RFK Jr.. like Tulsi Gabbard do you think Democrats might hold it against them?” Hurt asked. “Because I think you’re right. I think that one of the things that really, really enraging them is that these are former Democrats, and they feel like they have to — I think it just drives them crazy and makes them so mad that these are Democrats who found a way to work on common sense solutions with President Trump.”
Blackburn responded: “You’re exactly right about that. It does make them angry, and so they’re wanting to punish them and the way they can punish them is to withhold their vote or to slow down their nomination. RFK Jr.. is going to do a great job at HHS and I tell you one thing.
“He is going to help us find these 300,000 children. I’ve been trying to find these kids since it was 75,000, and the Biden Administration has never responded to where these children are. RFK is going to get in there. He’s going to rework CMS with Dr. [Mehmet] Oz. He is going to work with [Dr.] Marty Makary to straighten out the FDA. He’s going to work with Dr. [Jay] Bhattacharyaat NIH,” Blackburn said.
“You’re going to see transparency. People want to know what really happened with COVID. I think we’re going to be able to find out what happened,” she added.
The Consortium of Social Science Associations highlighted that Dr. Bhattacharya, a Stanford University health policy professor, was openly critical of how the government managed the COVID-19 crisis. He also brought a case to the Supreme Court—Murthy v. Missouri—claiming that he was “unfairly censored” by federal authorities on social media platforms due to his views.
Although the case drew widespread attention, it ultimately failed in a 6-3 decision, the organization noted.
Commenting on Bhattacharya’s nomination to the NIH, Trump said, “Dr. Bhattacharya will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to direct the Nation’s Medical Research, and to make important discoveries that will improve Health, and save lives.”
Patel, once a federal prosecutor, joined the House Select Committee on Intelligence in 2017 as senior counsel for counterterrorism. He later held the position of senior director at the Counterterrorism Directorate on the U.S. National Security Council in 2019.
Before those roles, Patel was a top aide to then-Representative Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), during his time leading the House Intelligence Committee. In that position, Patel was instrumental in Republican-led inquiries into Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump-related investigations.
One of his most notable contributions was helping draft the 2018 Nunes memo, which accused the FBI of missteps in how it obtained a surveillance warrant on a former Trump campaign adviser.