Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley said in a statement Tuesday his committee plans to take a final vote on FBI director nominee Kash Patel as early as next week.
The committee has a business meeting scheduled for Thursday to consider Patel’s nomination. Under committee rules, Democrats can delay the full committee vote for one more week, at which point senators are expected to advance the nominee along party lines to the full Senate for confirmation.
Senate Judiciary Democrats on Tuesday asked Grassley for another hearing to question Patel on several matters, including the recent personnel shakeup at the FBI. Grassley denied their request.
“No one was convinced by the Minority’s baseless efforts to mischaracterize and malign Kash Patel. It’s additionally outrageous to assert that a nominee should come before the Senate to answer for government actions that occurred prior to their time at an agency,” he said in a statement. “The Senate Judiciary Committee will not fall for Democrats’ delay tactics.”
