MSNOW: Trump is Thinking About Removing Kash Patel as FBI Director (Trump: Say What?)

This story is making the rounds this afternoon but the White House has already denying it. Anyway, it’s the Tuesday before Thanksgiving so there’s not a lot else happening. The big caveat here is that this comes from MSNOW.

President Donald Trump is considering removing Kash Patel as FBI director in the coming months, as he and his top aides have grown increasingly frustrated by the unflattering headlines Patel has recently generated, according to three people with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity in order to speak freely…

Trump and White House aides have confided to allies that the president is eyeing removing Patel and is considering top FBI official Andrew Bailey as the bureau’s new director, according to the three people.  

Patel is described as being on thin ice and his ouster appears closer than ever, with Bailey as the logical replacement, two of the sources with knowledge of the situation said, though Trump could change his mind in the weeks to come.

There have been some negative stories about Patel in the news lately. One involved his girlfriend.

When Alexis Wilkins, an aspiring country singer dating the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Atlanta in the spring, she arrived with a formidable protective posse — a SWAT team from the bureau’s local field office.

The two agents, members of a specialized unit trained to storm barricaded buildings and rescue hostages, had been sent there on Mr. Patel’s orders. But seeing that the event at the Georgia World Congress Center had been secured, and that Ms. Wilkins was in no apparent danger, they left before the event was over, according to six people with knowledge of the incident.

She noticed. So did her boyfriend.

Soon after, Mr. Patel ripped into the team’s commander, saying that his girlfriend had been left without taxpayer-funded defenders, and slamming what he saw as failure to communicate their movements up the chain of command during her time on the convention floor — where she sang and chatted with attendees, the people said.

The other story making the rounds also involves his girlfriend and a government jet:

Patel reportedly used a $60 million jet owned by the FBI to travel to State College, Pa., where his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a wrestling event at Penn State University’s Bryce Jordan Center…

The FBI’s Assistant Director for Public Affairs pushed back on that story, noting that the FBI Director is required to travel by private plane.

Criticisms like this of Director Patel’s travel are disingenuous and dumb – so for the few people who give a rip about the below article see below.

– FBI Directors are “required use travelers” under federal regulations – meaning they are mandated by Congress to travel on a… https://t.co/CadNCaoHXU

— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) October 30, 2025

Here’s part of what he said:

FBI Directors are “required use travelers” under federal regulations – meaning they are mandated by Congress to travel on a government plane even on personal travel. They’re actually barred from flying commercial. The reason for this is to maintain access to secure communications equipment in the event of an emergency…

Kash himself has significantly limited personal travel – but he’s allowed to take personal time on occasion to see family, friends or his longtime girlfriend. He doesn’t do it often. He works far more full weekends than he does otherwise. And maybe most importantly – ask anyone who works for him, he’s on duty 24/7 regardless.

So the private jet thing really does seem like a non-story but the girlfriend and the SWAT team may have raised some hackles. In any case, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the whole story about Trump and Patel was nonsense. In fact they were together today for the turkey pardoning.

This story is completely made up.

In fact, when this Fake News published, I was in the Oval Office, where President Trump was meeting with his law enforcement team, including FBI Director Kash Patel.

I read the headline to the President and he laughed. He said: “What? That’s… https://t.co/qbsy0nW2Bg pic.twitter.com/aNL5Qw9MA8

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) November 25, 2025

This story is completely made up.  

In fact, when this Fake News published, I was in the Oval Office, where President Trump was meeting with his law enforcement team, including FBI Director Kash Patel. 

I read the headline to the President and he laughed. He said: “What? That’s totally false. Come on Kash, let’s take a picture to show them you’re doing a great job!” 

Do not believe the Fake News!

So who knows where this is coming from. Maybe some disgruntled employees are spreading this to MSNOW as a way to poke Patel or Trump or both. Frankly, the fact that it ended up with that particular news outlet does make me suspicious about the motives of the sources. Alternatively, maybe someone misunderstood an offhand comment and decided to leak it. I have no idea what really happened but it doesn’t appear as if Trump is shying away from Patel at all so I don’t think it’s going to happen. Stay tuned though. If there is a change Trump wants to make and one he also wants to downplay in the media, this Friday is the best possible moment to announce it.

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