FBI Director Kash Patel Mocked For Donning Combat Fatigues In Recruitment Video, Embracing Limelight More Than Previous Directors

Unlike the FBI directors before him, Kash Patel seems to love the limelight.

Last week, Patel flew to Miami on Air Force One to attend an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event. It’s the second time he’s attended a UFC event as director.

Previously, the FBI director has also taken photographs with the hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.

Even though Patel’s predecessors did their jobs while rarely stepping into the limelight, unwilling to detract from the bureau’s work, he seems to delight in being in the spotlight.

Patel has a history of criticizing the FBI and has threatened to fire top agents and shut down its headquarters. In December 2024, he faced blowback from Congress before his confirmation hearings.

After his confirmation hearing in February, a whistleblower claimed Patel violated protocol during a hostage rescue mission in October 2020.

At one point in March, the FBI director was included in an FBI recruitment video in which he wore combat camouflage fatigues, which led to relentless abuse on social media.

Patel seems to have used FBI planes for personal travel.

Two years ago, he became a vocal critic of then-FBI Director Christopher Wray for using the government’s fleet of private aircraft for personal travel.

However, questions have now begun spreading inside the FBI about the degree to which Patel is using governmental airplanes for his travels.

The FBI refused to share his flight schedule and would not verify his presence on many flights to destinations where he later appeared.

In one instance on the first weekend in April, a Boeing 757 owned by the Department of Justice made two round trip flights from Washington to New York.

On April 5, the jet took a 57-minute flight to Stewart International Airport, a short drive from West Point. There, Patel appeared at a charity hockey event hosted by the FBI. The next day, the jet was back in the air at JFK Airport.