FBI director Kash Patel under fire for deploying bureau resources for girlfriend’s protection
The use of SWAT personnel, agents trained for high-risk operations such as resolving hostage situations, has been described by current and former officials as highly unusual.
November 24, 2025 08:46 AM IST
First published on: Nov 24, 2025 at 08:46 AM IST
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Patel’s use of government aircraft has also drawn scrutiny. (AP Photo)
FBI Director Kash Patel is facing criticism over his use of bureau resources to provide protection and travel support for his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins. According to NYT, Patel has repeatedly directed tactical agents and government aircraft toward activities that critics say fall outside standard FBI protocol.
Concerns escalated after an incident at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Atlanta earlier this year. Wilkins, who was performing at the event, arrived with two members of a SWAT team from the FBI’s local field office. The agents had been sent on Patel’s orders but left before the performance ended after determining that the venue was secure and that Wilkins was not in danger, according to six people with knowledge of the situation.
The decision reportedly angered Patel, who chastised the team’s commander for leaving his girlfriend without what he saw as necessary protection and for not properly relaying their movements up the chain of command.
He believed Wilkins, a high-profile conservative figure, could be targeted because of online threats she had received.
Unusual use of SWAT agents
The use of SWAT personnel, agents trained for high-risk operations such as resolving hostage situations, has been described by current and former officials as highly unusual, reported NYT. While tactical agents have occasionally supplemented director-level security in rare circumstances, several officials said Patel’s reliance on them appeared ad hoc and, at times, lacking advance planning.
Agents have also been deployed with little notice to protect Wilkins at events in Nashville and elsewhere.
Wilkins, 27, has accompanied Patel on some of his official and overseas travel. In May, she flew to London, where Patel was attending a closed-door national security conference. FBI personnel from the US embassy transported her to the venue, according to a former official with knowledge of the trip.
Private jet travel
Patel’s use of government aircraft has also drawn scrutiny.
Directors are required to fly on government planes due to classified communications needs, but their personal travel must be reimbursed at the cost of a commercial ticket. Patel has used the bureau’s small private jet and, at times, a Boeing 757 for trips to Nevada or to visit Wilkins in Tennessee.
A spokesman previously told reporters, as per NYT, that Patel had taken about a dozen personal trips since assuming office.
Ben Williamson, a spokesman for Patel, said the director’s transportation expenses were consistent with those of recent predecessors and insisted that Wilkins receives security only because she has been subjected to “hundreds of credible death threats.” Williamson added that, according to NYT, that “bad faith criticisms of FBI travel will not deter the bureau from our mission.”
But former agents have raised alarms over what they view as misplaced priorities.
The questions surrounding Wilkins’s protection come at a time when Patel has publicly supported significant cuts to the FBI’s budget.
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Patel’s use of government aircraft has also drawn scrutiny. (AP Photo) 
