Kash Patel Seeks $12 Billion for FBI as Senate Scrutiny Intensifies

5 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 12

$12 billion is the FBI budget Patel will defend Tuesday before a Senate appropriations panel, a roughly $2 billion increase from the prior year under Trump's broader nearly $41 billion DOJ request.
The administration says the added money would expand violent-crime arrests, strengthen counterterrorism, improve drone capabilities, train state and local police, and bolster security for major events including the 2028 Olympics.
Patel enters the hearing under renewed pressure after criticism over security failures tied to recent threats against Trump and after The Atlantic accused him of heavy drinking, erratic behavior and absences—claims he denies.
The testimony marks Patel's first Capitol Hill hearing since September, when Democrats grilled him after Charlie Kirk's assassination, and follows his $250 million defamation suit against The Atlantic.
The request also reverses last year's direction: Trump had cut FBI spending by about $500 million, a move Patel first resisted before later backing as consistent with the administration's law-enforcement priorities.

With its director under scrutiny, can the FBI effectively wield a $12 billion budget against rising national threats?

As security budgets soar while science funding is cut, what future is the nation truly investing in?