By Steve Neavling
New FBI leaders Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, once two of the agency’s fiercest critics, are now calling for reforms from within — using the bureau’s damaged reputation, which they helped shape, as justification for change.
In recent internal messages to FBI staff, Patel acknowledged that “the FBI’s reputation has been damaged in the eyes of our employers, the American people,” and said “business as usual is no longer business as usual,” The New York Times reports. Absent from the message was any mention of his past conspiracy claims, including accusing FBI agents of helping incite the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Bongino, a former podcaster known for partisan attacks, echoed similar sentiments in an earlier message, promising to set aside politics and avoid acting as a “partisan political figure.”
The effort to rebrand themselves as reformers has drawn skepticism from current and former agents. Luke William Hunt, a former FBI agent and now professor, called Bongino’s claim of neutrality “laughable.”
Despite past criticism of the bureau’s Jan. 6 investigation, Patel recently named Steven Jensen, who helped lead the FBI’s response to the Capitol riot, as head of the Washington field office. Jensen also oversaw a program monitoring school board threats, which Patel once denounced as government overreach.
Patel’s email praised agents for their integrity and casework, language nearly identical to that used by his predecessor, Christopher Wray, who stepped down before Trump could remove him.
Critics noted the irony. Patel had long attacked the FBI’s Russia investigation and the Mar-a-Lago search, despite internal reviews finding both were properly launched. His own book likened the Mar-a-Lago raid to “Watergate” and dismissed the warrant as politically biased.
While Patel and Bongino now push reform, many inside the bureau remain wary of their motives — and whether their actions will align with their promises.
