Kash Patel, Prescott Valley, Arizona, October 13, 2024. (REUTERS/Go Nakamura)

Patel, who during Trump's first term advised both the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense, has previously called for stripping the FBI of its intelligence-gathering role.

“I am proud to announce that Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel will serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday evening.

Patel, 44, previously worked as a federal public defender and a federal prosecutor.