FBI Director Kash Patel told House lawmakers on Wednesday that a budget proposed by the Trump administration is about $1 billion below what the bureau needs.
Patel urged the House Appropriations subcommittee during a hearing to reject the 2026 budget proposal recently released by the White House and consider an increased budget.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) asked Patel what positions he's looking to cut if the nearly half a billion dollar cuts to the agency were implemented.
If the cuts to the current budget are approved, Patel said, he would be forced to cut 1,300 positions from the agency.
Patel asserted that he's working through the appropriations process to explain why the agency needs more funds than what was proposed. He also warned that such a cut would be harmful for the FBI and that it can't complete its mission to focus on violent crime under the proposed budget.
During Wednesday's hearing, Patel also clashed with Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), who served as a House impeachment manager during the second of two impeachment cases against Trump in his first term.
Patel replied that he was the one who had been “targeted by a weaponized FBI," presumably referring to the fact that he was among the people whose records were secretly seized by the Justice Department years earlier as part of media leak investigations when he was a staffer on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence conducting an investigation into Russian election interference.
“You should read the book because there’s no enemies list [in] that book,” Patel said. "There are people that violated their constitutional obligations and their duties to the American people, and they were rightly called out.”
Dean pressed Patel on whether he would go to the president and tell him that the agency needs more than what has been proposed.
"I'll do what I've always done and represent the American people, defend this country, and make sure the Constitution is always upheld and that the FBI is never weaponized. Maybe you should do the same," Patel said.
By contrast, Rep. Dale Strong (R-Ala.) commended Patel for "restoring America's trust" in the FBI. He also acknowledged Patel's efforts in moving FBI agents into the field and out of Washington. This comes after Patel expressed intent to send 1,000 agents from the Washington area to field offices across the country, with another 500 support staff members reassigned to the bureau’s campus in Huntsville, Alabama.
The Alabama congressman said Patel's plan to move agents to Redstone Arsenal in his home state represented "responsible growth."
Patel throughout the hearing defended his stance for more funds and urged House lawmakers to authorize an increased budget for his agency.
Without the funds, Patel said, the FBI "risks making tradeoffs that jeopardize the safety of Americans." The bureau's mission cannot continue without their investment and support, adding it needs funds for its nationwide operations and to implement Trump's agenda to aggressively crack down on violent crime
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson described Trump's 2026 budget proposal as “a bold blueprint that reflects the values of hardworking Americans and the commitment to American strength and prosperity.” The newly released budget proposal will be the center of upcoming fiscal year debates and marks Trump's first budget proposal since his return to the White House.