FBI director Kash Patel arrives on the South Lawn of the White House before President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in the White House Easter Egg Roll Monday, April 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before Senate Committee on Appropriations - Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
FBI director Kash Patel, right, confers with staff during a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the Fiscal Year 2026 Request for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
FBI director Kash Patel arrives on the South Lawn of the White House before President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in the White House Easter Egg Roll Monday, April 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before Senate Committee on Appropriations - Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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FBI director Kash Patel, right, confers with staff during a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies budget hearing on the Fiscal Year 2026 Request for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday that he would make the bureau's mission “work on whatever budget we're given,†striking a different tone from comments a day earlier in which he called for the agency to be funded at far higher levels than what the Trump administration had proposed.
calls for a funding cut of about $545 million for the FBI as part of what the White House said was a desire to “reform and streamline†the bureau and reduce “non-law enforcement missions that do not align†with the priorities of President Donald Trump
Patel told lawmakers at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Wednesday that the FBI needs “more than what has been proposed†to operate as it should and that it "can’t do the mission on those 2011 budget levels.â€
But on Thursday, appearing at a separate hearing of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, he took a different stance when asked by Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland about his earlier testimony that the FBI required substantially more money than what the Trump budget plan had called for.
“My view is that we agree with this budget as it stands and (will) make it work for the operational necessity of the FBI, and as the head of the FBI, I was simply asking for more funds because I can do more with more money,†he said.
He added that he would “make the mission work on whatever budget we're given.â€
