FBI Director Kash Patel has strongly opposed President Trump’s proposed $545 million budget cut to the FBI, warning it would Cripple core operations. Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee, Patel stated that the agency cannot fulfill its mission with 2011-level funding. Trump’s budget prioritizes counterterrorism and fieldwork, slashing D.C. overhead and defunding diversity programs. Patel said the FBI needs $11.1 billion to operate without layoffs and is urgently negotiating with Congress to reverse the cut. The dispute underscores tensions between Trump’s fiscal agenda and federal law enforcement priorities.
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NewsTranscript
00:00We have not looked at who to cut, we are focusing our energies on how not to have them cut by coming in here and highlighting to you that we can't do the mission on those 2011 budget levels.
00:30And so what we're focusing on is right now is working with our partners in OMB, the appropriators, to say that we cannot cover down on the mission at the levels that we would have to go to, which would be the 2011 levels, should all the budget cuts you just outlined be implemented.
00:45So are you talking about coming up here with a budget request that restores the funding that has been cut, that it's a defunding law enforcement?
01:05But you're talking about half a billion dollars below the current level.
01:08How would you restructure the budget to get to where you need in order to be able to make sure that we are not defunding law enforcement and that we are not cutting the analysts that you need in order to be able to do your job and to be dealing with national security issues?
01:26I don't I don't understand. You've got a budget request, half a billion dollars less, and you're cutting people.
01:33You don't know who you're going to cut. You don't want to tell us which it is.
01:38Are you going to restore that half billion? You're going to request a story that half billion dollars?
01:42Well, as I said, I'm not the budget expert, but we the budget request that we put in the FBI was 11.2 billion, I believe.
01:51And we are working through the appropriations process and the OMB process and the skinny budget that we've received to work with y'all to help us get to a number.
01:59And I believe if we got back the number you stated, we would not have to cut more FBI.
02:05So with with a half billion dollar cut, more than five percent below the hard freeze of the FBI's operating budget, you believe that then this would not impact enforcement or national security related functions?
02:22Then what are the positions? I'm going to ask the question again. What positions are you looking to cut?
02:28What is the cuts for this half billion dollars?
02:30Now, apparently that half billion dollars, you're not in the budget department, but this is your budget.
02:40This is your budget. You have to have some idea of what you want to fund or not fund or where you think you can cut or not cut and provide that information to OMB.
02:51I'm I'm I'm unclear. And it seems to me that you are as to what should be the budget of of of this agency.
02:59And if it's, you know, a half billion dollars lower, what are the positions that you believe will have to be cut in order to reach the mandate that you are bringing forward to us in terms of your budget?
03:13Well, that's exactly what I'm saying. That's the proposed budget, not by the FBI. The proposed budget that I put forward is to cover us for eleven point one billion dollars, which would not have us cut any positions.
03:26positions. The proposed budget. So the skinny budget is is is we we don't we don't have the skinny budget is wrong.
03:37The skinny budget is a proposal and I'm working through the appropriations process to explain why we need more than what has been proposed.
03:44So what what what do you need? You need eleven point two billion dollars? Approximately.
03:48OK, now, is that going to be delineated? I don't know what that means in terms of cuts that would be coming up to reach that goal.
03:57So there would be no additional positions of deleted from the FBI if you get that amount of money.
04:05That's correct. And that's what we anticipate is coming in a budget that we anticipate at some point.
04:10We don't know when we're going to get it, even though we will be in markups by the time this this this this effort is underway.
04:17But according. According to what we have received from the FBI, there are 904 positions that are currently slated for transfer from Washington, D.C.
04:36to field offices that are currently vacant. Is that correct? Yes, ma'am.
04:42OK, this is what what what is there any explanation of why these positions are moving to field offices?
04:55One of the things we can't seem to get answers to, and this is not you, is programs are being deleted, programs that are being frozen.
05:04And dollars are being frozen programs that are being cut. There is we don't have any sense on this committee, which is the appropriations committee and making a determination of what we should or shouldn't do.
05:15Is any evaluation from any agency so far. And I ask this of you. What is the criteria?
05:26What are the programs that are going to be potentially left behind? What is the evaluation process here that says why these programs are no longer functional?
05:38Are not working? What is the story? Can we get from you when we're going to get a, you know, some sort of an idea of what is a budget that you can deal with?
05:51Is what will be what what what what might be cut? What may not be cut? And why? What was it? What's the criteria by which that these programs would be the evaluation is to to to to to transfer them out?
06:09Or why are these people going to field offices that we get that from you? Yeah, I can give it to you right now, ma'am.
06:14The short answers to why these folks are going to the field is because we are moving agents, Intel analysts and SOS is across the country into every state to get a hand level grasp on violent crime in every single community.
06:28We're moving those folks out there. OK, but I just will wrap up. And thank you, Mr. Chairman.
06:34We need to you need to provide for us a specific specify exactly which so-called, quote, over head positions are being cut.
06:43And since other federal agencies are also proposing position cuts, how won't this cut inevitably reduce the FBI's intelligence analytic capabilities?
06:53We need to have that information before we can determine what the budget is. Yes, ma'am. Thank you.
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07:03We'll see you next time.