Understanding an ‘Unprecedented Moment’ for the FBI

EXPERT INTERVIEWS – As part of the Trump Administration’s aim to reduce government payrolls, it has taken several actions involving the FBI. More than two dozen FBI officials and prosecutors have been fired, several thousand employees have been asked to submit answers to questionnaires, and the administration has signaled a pivot of the bureau’s overall approach to focus more closely on illegal immigration, drug trafficking and violent crime. What’s unclear – amid a swirl of conflicting media reports – is how far a downsizing of the FBI may go, and whether the shift in institutional focus will mean less attention paid to the bureau’s counterintelligence and counterterrorism work.

Last week, the administration’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, wrote an op-ed saying he would concentrate on “streamlining operations” at the bureau, and while the FBI has been increasingly involved in countering threats from overseas – including terrorism, cybercrime, and Chinese and Russian espionage – Patel stressed domestic concerns during his confirmation hearings. The Wall Street Journal noted that during those hearings, “Patel mentioned China only in passing and didn’t speak about any threat from Russia.”