A Different Kind of F.B.I. Chief: Jet-Setting Patel Loves the Limelight

Kash Patel’s embrace of the spotlight appears to be a break from the recent past, as his predecessors typically did the job with little fanfare.


Kash Patel, the Federal Bureau of Investigation director, has embraced the spotlight in a way traditionally shunned by his recent predecessors. Eric Lee/The New York Times

By Adam Goldman and Aric Toler
Adam Goldman reported from Washington, and Aric Toler from Kansas City.
April 20, 2025, 5:01 a.m. ET

Kash Patel flew to Miami on Air Force One last weekend to watch an Ultimate Fighting Championship event, wearing his signature wraparound sunglasses — at least the second time he has gone to a mixed-martial arts fight as F.B.I. director. … Days earlier, he showed up at two N.H.L. games, grinning in photographs with the hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. At one, in Washington, Mr. Patel, who has played the sport since he was a child, was spotted in the owner’s suite as he watched the Capitals player Alex Ovechkin tie Mr. Gretzky’s scoring record.

And since taking over the agency, Mr. Patel has been a noticeable presence at President Trump’s side, delivering a warm-up speech at the Justice Department before Mr. Trump himself spoke and hovering behind him during the U.F.C. match in Miami.

Mr. Patel, 44, seems to relish his new status as director, cutting a highly visible path while running the most important law enforcement agency in the nation. His embrace of the spotlight appears to be a break from the recent past. Previous directors did the job with little fanfare, deflecting any attention that might detract from the work of the bureau.

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The F.B.I. recently put out a request for information about buying another jet for “required-use executive travel.” It was not clear why the bureau needed another plane. The Justice Department has a small fleet that the director can use to carry out his duties, including two Gulfstreams and two Boeing 757s. … One of those 757s landed at Kennedy International Airport shortly before the N.H.L. game on April 6 that Mr. Patel attended on Long Island, where he grew up, again seated next to Mr. Gretzky in a suite. The plane departed J.F.K. soon after the game ended.

Adam Goldman writes about the F.B.I. and national security. He has been a journalist for more than two decades.

Aric Toler is a reporter on the Visual Investigations team at The Times where he uses emerging techniques of discovery to analyze open source information.