President-elect Donald Trump on November 29 nominated his close confidant 'Kash' Patel for the powerful post of Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). With this, Kash Patel has become the highest-ranking Indian American in the upcoming Trump administration. Trump announced the appointment of Kash Patel on the social media platform Truth Social.

Patel, son of an Indian immigrant, has worked in high positions in defense and intelligence matters during Trump's first term as a former Republican employee. Last year, he promised that he would open a front against politicians and journalists opposing Trump. Former US Deputy National Security Advisor Charles Kapperman told the New York Times how loyal Patel is to Trump. He said that in 2019, when Trump was facing public opposition, he called a meeting of top advisers in the Oval Office.

Among the four chairs in front of him, a relatively surprising chair was that of a very low-level employee Patel. Patel has been the Deputy to the Director of National Intelligence. He then became the Chief of Staff to the Acting Defense Secretary. Patel helped a lot in preparing the four-page memorandum 'Nunes Memo' released to the public regarding the ongoing investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election. Trump was very impressed by this. Donald Trump has secured a second term as President of the United States after his victory in the 2024 presidential election. Winning 295 electoral votes, he defeated Democratic rival Kamala Harris, who secured 226 votes. Since his victory, Trump will be formally inaugurated in January 2025. Before that, he is moving fast to finalize his foreign policy and national security team.