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Sullivan on Patel nomination: 'I can’t worry about after Jan. 20'
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that he couldn’t be concerned with what happens after President-elect Trump takes office in January when pressed about the nomination of Kash Patel to serve as head of the FBI.
ABC’s Jonathan Karl noted Patel has talked about retribution, questioning if that rhetoric concerns him “about what’s going to happen after Jan. 20.”
“I can’t worry about after Jan. 20. I have to worry about until Jan. 20. And the full spectrum of challenges and opportunities the United States has to advance our national interest,” he said. “My job is to try to protect this country, to try to reduce the capacity of our adversaries, increase the capacity of our allies. We’ve got a lot of work to do. And, frankly, we’re going to try to do that also in a way where we have a smooth transition with the incoming Trump team.”
Trump announced his plans to nominate Patel on Saturday, elevating a staunch ally and controversial figure who has called for mass firings, particularly at both the Justice Department and FBI.
Sullivan noted on ABC that FBI directors are appointed to 10-year terms, so they extend beyond any president, highlighting that Director Christopher Wray’s term isn’t up until 2027.
“We inherited an FBI director who actually had been appointed by President Trump, Director Chris Wray, who’s continued to serve in that role through the four years of the Biden administration and served with distinction, served entirely insulated from politics,” Sullivan said. “This is a good, deep, bipartisan tradition that President Biden adhered to. And that’s really all I can say.”
Trump’s announcement indicated that he plans to fire Wray, whom the president-elect first nominated in 2017.
Patel is expected to face a tough confirmation fight in the Senate over his complicated background, which includes his role in seeking to discredit the Democrats’ investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia while working as an adviser on the House Intelligence Committee.