FBI director Kash Patel named acting ATF head days after taking oath on Hindu sacred book
Just days after taking his oath of office on a Hindu religious book, FBI Director Kash Patel was sworn in Monday as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
According to a source familiar with the matter cited by The Associated Press, the ceremony took place at ATF headquarters. It remains unclear whether President Donald Trump intends to nominate Patel for the permanent ATF director position, or what the administration’s longer-term plans are for the agency, the AP reported.
Patel, 44, is the first Hindu- and Indian-American to lead two of the nation’s high-profile agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice. He was sworn in Friday as head of the FBI in a ceremony in which he chose to use the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu sacred book, instead of the traditional Holy Bible.
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He formerly worked as a prosecutor for the U.S. Justice Department under the Obama administration as a counterterrorism prosecutor in the National Security Division before serving in the first Trump administration as chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Defense, deputy director of National Intelligence and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council.
During Patel’s Senate confirmation hearing last month, Patel greeted his parents with the phrase "Jai Shri Krishna" and touched their feet in a traditional Indian gesture of respect.
The phrase "Jai Shri Krishna," a Sanskrit expression meaning "Victory to Krishna," is a common greeting among followers of Hinduism, particularly those who worship the Hindu deity.
In his 2023 book,Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy, Patel identified himself as the son of “working-class immigrants from India” who was raised in Queens and Long Island, New York, crediting his parents with encouraging him to remain “mindful” of his religion and heritage.
“I was raised Hindu, my family went to temple and prayed at home in our shrine room, making sure to celebrate big holidays like Diwali and Navratri,” he wrote. “I remember going to Indian weddings as a kid that were unlike any other party I had been to before—or since. Five hundred people celebrating for a full week was considered a small affair.”
He’s also spoken out against the weaponization of federal law enforcement: when asked during his confirmation hearing whether he would “target traditional Catholics as extremists” as under the Obama and Biden administrations, Patel said his priority would be focusing on the threat of fentanyl and other drugs along the U.S. southern border.
“One hundred thousand deaths due to fentanyl and drug overdoses in one year,” Patel said. “I’d rather the FBI focus on that and save our children.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt plays a game of "Would You Rather?" with Kash Patel during his confirmation hearing. @Eric_Schmitt: "Would you rather target traditional Catholics as extremists, or focus on investigating actual threats posed to American people by cartels?" pic.twitter.com/SYybMzlw1p
— Melissa Barnhart (@MelBarnhart) January 31, 2025
He has also vowed to stop prosecuting pro-life Christians and other advocates, saying, "Due process must be provided without bias to all Americans, and if we cannot provide due process to the worst, then there can be no due process for anyone, and our Constitutional Republic fails."
Patel is among a handful of Trump’s cabinet nominees who at least one Senate Republican has voted against. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined all 47 members of the Democratic Caucus in voting against his nomination. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted against both Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., while McConnell joined Collins and Murkowski in opposing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
