analysis
The FBI director is also facing criticism over his handling of the Epstein files
Published
February 14, 2026 6:45AM (EST)
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FBI Director Kash Patel is coming under fire for his handling of high-profile investigations ( Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Not long ago, Kash Patel was a hero to MAGA world. A Trump loyalist, former Fox News regular and podcaster fluent in grievance politics, Patel was supposed to be the man who would finally bend the FBI to the will of a movement that spent years insisting the bureau was hostile to conservatives. Less than a year after his appointment as director, the same right-wing media ecosystem that once elevated Patel is increasingly turning on him — mocking his missteps and, in some cases, openly calling him a liar.
Patel’s tenure has been marked by a pattern of premature announcements and theatrical incompetence. Under his leadership, the FBI has lost significant institutional expertise.
Patel’s tenure has been marked by a pattern of premature announcements and theatrical incompetence. Under his leadership, the FBI has lost significant institutional expertise. About 3,063 FBI employees reportedly left the bureau in 2025, according to data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Of those who remain, roughly 1,000 special agents and others are said to be focused on redacting materials related to the Epstein files. A leaked internal FBI document from December revealed agents describing the bureau under Patel as “dismal,” “all f****d up” and a “rudderless ship,” concluding the director is “in over his head.”
The FBI’s investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance isn’t helping Patel brighten MAGA’s dimming view of his leadership. The 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie was reported missing on Feb. 1 after failing to show up at a friend’s house, where they had planned to livestream their church’s service. This week Patel went on Fox News’ “Hannity” to boast that the FBI was investigating “persons of interest” and that “substantial progress” had been made. Hours later, authorities detained delivery driver Carlos Palazuelos during a traffic stop in Tucson. He was questioned and released the same day without charges.
“It was terrifying,” he told reporters, visibly shaken. “I felt like I was being kidnapped, bro.” On the same day the FBI detained Palazuelos, the bureau released black-and-white surveillance footage from Guthrie’s doorstep showing a masked figure wearing gloves, carrying a backpack and disabling her door camera — with a holstered pistol clearly visible. Nearly two weeks since Guthrie’s apparent abduction, law enforcement still hasn’t apprehended a suspect.
On Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that she had spoken with Patel and that the “full resources and weight of the federal government” were on the ground in Arizona. For days, Donald Trump has suggested answers were coming soon. At his press conference in Tucson this week, Patel opened by crediting Trump for improved cooperation with public sectors.