Patel is a controversial nominee, having long raged against the so-called Deep State and prioritized his loyalty to Trump.

The man picked for a top security role in Donald Trump’s administration is a children’s author who believes the president has been persecuted and undermined by the “deep state”.

Senate Democrats confronted Kash Patel with his past statements including referring to some Jan. 6 rioters as “political prisoners” and calling for a purge of anti-Trump “conspirators” in the government and news media.