FBI Director Kash Patel is warning that the bureau will not be able to fulfill its missions if a White House budget cut proposal released last week is implemented.
The proposal, introduced last Friday, would cut the FBI’s budget by $545 million as part of President Donald Trump‘s plan to slash government spending by $163 billion.
“We cannot cover down on the mission at the levels that we would have to go to, which would be the 2011 levels, should all the budget cuts you just outlined be implemented,” Patel said during testimony on Wednesday before the House Appropriations Committee.
Patel also urged the panel to approve an $11.1 billion budget for the bureau – an increase of $1 billion over the proposed figure – to combat what he described as increased levels of crime and terrorism across the country.
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Since Trump took office earlier this year, “the FBI has made over 6,000 immigration-related arrests, 310 arrests of TdA (Tren de Aragua) members and 136 arrests of MS-13 members,” according to an FBI statement.
Patel added that budget cuts would be detrimental to the bureau’s current personnel and operational capacity.
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“If we continue on the current trajectory outlined, we will have to not only eliminate 1,100 vacancies currently at the FBI,” Patel said. “I will have to fire 1,300 more. In order to fight crime at a level that is consistent with 2025, the budgetary number I’ve asked for in my paperwork is, I think, reasonable.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Patel’s remarks, but they did not immediately respond.
The budget cut was intended to streamline the bureau by reducing overhead in Washington, D.C., according to the White House proposal.
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It would also eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs as well as “pet projects” from the former Biden administration, as they “do not align with the President’s priorities,” the budget proposal added.
“The threats we face as a nation have never been greater or more diverse, and the expectations placed on the FBI have never been higher,” the FBI statement continued. “With the requested resources, the FBI will have the talent, tools, and authorities to do more to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution.”
