FBI needs more money than White House proposed budget: Director
'I'm working through the appropriations process to explain why we need more than what has been proposed,' says Kash Patel
WASHINGTON
FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday that the bureau needs about $1 billion more than the Trump administration's budget proposal.
"The skinny budget is a proposal, and I’m working through the appropriations process to explain why we need more than what has been proposed," Patel told lawmakers during a House appropriations subcommittee hearing on President Donald Trump's 2026 budget request for the FBI.
According to the recent White House budget proposal, the FBI's budget was cut by $545 million.
"That's the proposed budget, not by the FBI. The proposed budget that I put forward is to cover us for $11.1 billion, which would not have us cut any positions," Patel said.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro questioned him over her confusion about Patel’s rejection of the requested budget.
"What do you need? You need $11.2 billion?" she asked.
"Approximately," Patel replied.
On Wednesday, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, requested a review of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) use of government-owned aircraft by senior executives.
In a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Durbin said: "Multiple components within DOJ—including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and United States Marshals Service (USMS)—own, lease and operate a fleet of aircraft primarily to support mission-critical DOJ operations such as counterterrorism, criminal surveillance and interdiction of illicit drug trafficking."
