After the win of Donald Trump, name of an Indian-origin Trump loyalist, Kashyap Patel, also known as Kash Patel, is getting famous for the role of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). After Donald Trump takes office, he is expected to announce high-ranking officials for his cabinet.
One of the expected names is of Kash Patel. Patel, a former Republican House staffer who has held many high-level positions in the defense and intelligence sectors during Trump’s first term. He has often appeared on the campaign trail to mobilize backing for the Republican candidate. He formerly served as Chief of Staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.
According to the media reports, Patel was born in 1980 and has roots in Vadodara, Gujarat. He did his undergraduate studies at the University of Richmond, and received a law degree and a Certificate in International Law from University College London. He is believed to have faced challenges in setting up his law practice or securing a position at prominent law firms. He worked in Miami courts for nearly 9 years and handled cases such as murder, narcotics trafficking, and financial crimes. Eventually, Patel’s career got closely tied to Trump’s political rise.
He was a part of the federal government as a terrorist prosecutor at the Department of Justice, where he supervised investigations and indictments of terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS. He also has experience working as the Justice Department’s liaison officer with the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), cooperating on worldwide counter-terrorism activities. In the year 2017, Patel joined the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which was chaired by Republican Congressman Devin Nunes, a strong Trump loyalist.
Patel gained national heed for his work in the committee’s probe into alleged Russian intervention in the 2016 US presidential election. He helped produce the contentious “Nunes Memo,” which accused the FBI of abusing surveillance authorities during its investigation into the Trump campaign.
During Trump’s first term, the 44-year-old held several high-profile national security positions. He joined the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in February 2020, serving as Principal Deputy to Acting Director Richard Grenell. He eventually became Chief of Staff to Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, assuming major control over the Department of Defense’s operations and transition procedures.
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