Kash Patel’s time running the FBI may soon come to an end, at least according to multiple insiders who say the fallout from the Brown University mass shooting has pushed his already rocky tenure to the edge.
In the wake of the attack, sources told Salon that Patel’s leadership is facing intense internal blowback, with one veteran describing an agency they say is barely holding together. “In shambles,” one person put it. Morale is at an “all-time low,” said a 30-year FBI veteran, adding, “The cause is at the top.”
The immediate spark, staffers say, was Patel’s rush to victory-lap a development in the Brown case that didn’t last the day.
On Sunday, Patel posted on X that the FBI had brought in a “person of interest” tied to the Brown shooting using “geolocation capabilities.” He added that Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez had praised the bureau for acting on a tip that helped locate the person.
At a Sunday evening press conference, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said the person had been released because there was “no basis” to keep them in custody. The about-face was fast, especially because it arrived after the FBI director had already made the claim sound like a major breakthrough.
Just to be clear: Yesterday Kash Patel was bragging that thanks to the FBI’s leadership, a person of interest was arrested. Well they arrested the wrong person so he is being released. Helluva job Kash! pic.twitter.com/ZAoZMzXyIn
— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) December 15, 2025
It also wasn’t the first time Patel has had to walk back a high-profile announcement. He made similar “person of interest” claims early in the FBI’s investigation into Charlie Kirk’s murder, only to retreat later as the case developed.
One of the most striking claims in the Salon report is that Deputy Director Dan Bongino may already be gone in practice, even if not on paper. Staffers told the outlet Bongino’s office has been empty for “close to two weeks,” a detail that has set off a new round of speculation about who is actually running day-to-day operations.
There has been no formal announcement, and Bongino remains active online. On Monday, he reposted news about the FBI arresting four alleged members of a pro-Palestinian group accused of planning a New Year’s Eve bombing attack on Los Angeles. But inside the building, staffers quoted by Salon were not sentimental about him potentially exiting. “Nobody here will miss him,” one staffer said. “He has no credibility.”
The turmoil is not confined to FBI hallways. White House officials speaking on background told Salon that President Donald Trump “wouldn’t be all that upset” to see Patel leave, a remarkable posture for a president who has treated loyalty as currency and disagreement as betrayal.
According to FBI sources who spoke to Salon, Andrew Bailey, who until recently served as Missouri’s attorney general, is viewed internally as a favored replacement, potentially “around the first of the year.” Bailey is described as having strong support among MAGA insiders, and reportedly the backing of Sen. Josh Hawley, the influential Missouri Republican.
Democrats are already sharpening their knives, arguing that Bailey has no FBI experience and is being elevated for political reasons. “President Trump is appointing a partisan politician,” Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois told NBC when Bailey was recently appointed to serve alongside Bongino as co-deputy director.
For Patel, the problem is not just the Brown shooting; it is the accumulation of one scandal after another. One high-profile misstep can be survived, but a pattern is harder to explain away, especially when it involves public claims that collapse within hours.
