The hearing room on Capitol Hill turned raw and raucous Tuesday, when Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey clashed with FBI Director Kash Patel in an exchange that felt less like oversight and more like open combat.
Booker came loaded with indictment. “You have pushed out senior FBI agents with decades of knowledge and experience,” he charged. “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.”
The senator’s voice tightened as he leveled the accusation that cut to the heart of the Bureau’s mission. “I believe you have made our country weaker and less safe.”
Patel, unflinching, pushed back. “You don’t get to say that America is not safer under this leadership… America is safer because of the FBI.”
But Booker wasn’t finished. “Here’s the thing, Mr. Patel, I think you’re not going to be around long. … I think this might be your last oversight hearing.”
Patel dismissed Booker’s remarks as theater. “Sir, that rant of false information does not bring this country together.”
The two men’s voices overlapped now, neither yielding. Patel’s anger broke through in sharp relief: “You are an EMBARRASSMENT to this country! You had your time, your time is OVER.”
Watch the heated exchange below:
JUST IN: Democrat Senator Cory Booker has a complete meltdown after FBI Director Kash Patel tells him his time is over.
Patel: "That rant of false information does not bring this country together. If you wanna work on…"
Booker: *Interrupts*
Patel: "It's my time, not yours."… pic.twitter.com/u7vVtcq6Zq
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 16, 2025
Patel also revealed during the hearing that the FBI is on track to deliver “the lowest murder rate in modern American history.”
Watch the clip below:
FBI Director @Kash_Patel: "We are on track to have the LOWEST murder rate in modern American history." pic.twitter.com/6alh6sqtCT
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 16, 2025
