Tensions boiled over on the Senate Judiciary Committee floor Tuesday as Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) confronted FBI Director Kash Patel in a fiery back-and-forth that left the hearing room crackling with raw emotion.
The clash erupted when Booker accused Patel of undermining national security by diverting key FBI agents—those on task forces focused on terrorism and child trafficking—away from their critical work to focus instead on immigration enforcement, a shift Booker bluntly said has made the country “less safe.”
“Donald Trump promised to make us all safer. You have pushed out senior FBI agents with decades of knowledge and experience. In fact, this is the first time in FBI history that neither the director nor the deputy director have any experience with the FBI. You’ve shifted the agency’s priorities primarily to pursuing Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda,” Booker said, his voice steady but biting.
He didn’t hold back on the numbers either. “According to ICE data, the Cato Institute, which is a conservative think tank, found that 2,520% of all agents have been diverted from their work to assist ICE immigration enforcement,” Booker added, hammering home the scale of the shift.
Booker went further, questioning whether agents who traditionally investigate crimes against children were being pulled from those vital cases to enforce immigration policies.
Patel, clearly rattled, repeatedly dodged the questions by objecting to the “premise” whenever he didn’t want to respond, a tactic Booker quickly called out.
That’s when the hearing spiraled. Patel erupted, yelling, “You don’t get to say that America is not safer under this leadership!” before the committee chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), slammed his gavel in an attempt to restore order. “America is safer because of the work of the FBI!” Patel insisted, voice rising.
The two men shouted over one another for several heated minutes until Grassley finally silenced them—and sharply reprimanded Booker.
But the tension didn’t end there.
With the room still charged, Booker looked Patel dead in the eye and said, “I don’t think you’re long for your job.”
Patel snapped back, “You are an embarrassment to the division of this country! Your time is over.”
Booker wasn’t having it. “Sir, you don’t tell me my time is over! The people of New Jersey tell me when my time is — you can’t lecture me!” he fired back.
The standoff closed with Patel shouting, “I’m not going anywhere!” and Booker defiantly responding, “I am not afraid of you!”
For Booker, it was a fight to hold officials accountable for what he sees as a dangerous betrayal of the FBI’s mission. For Patel, it was about defending his controversial leadership amid growing scrutiny.
Watch the clip below:
