Former FBI Official Warns Trump’s FBI Pick Faces Agency Revolt Over Mass Firings

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A former FBI official issued a stark warning Monday about the fallout from President Donald Trump’s sweeping purge of the bureau, cautioning that his nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, will be met with strong resistance from within the agency.

Speaking on MSNBC, former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi described Patel’s confirmation as setting the stage for a direct confrontation with FBI personnel. “He’s going to walk into an agency that literally will not want to work for him,” Figliuzzi warned.

Last week, the Trump administration began a large-scale purge within the FBI, signaling that more dismissals are imminent. Reports indicate that FBI employees who worked on January 6 cases are among those being targeted, a move that could result in nearly three-fourths of the agency being dismissed, told Raw Story.

Patel’s potential confirmation would coincide with the firing of the directors of the Washington, D.C., and Miami field offices, as well as the removal of an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 agents. Figliuzzi called the move “simply politicizing a revenge action against those agents” and warned of the demoralizing effect such firings would have on the bureau.

“There is absolute dismay over this. Some of these leaders who are going out the door were highly respected veterans,” he said. Adding to the concern, Figliuzzi pointed out that some of the officials being dismissed are not yet eligible for retirement, meaning they will be left without financial stability until legal challenges are resolved.

“We all know this is an illegal action,” he added, though he acknowledged it could take “a year or two” for the courts to intervene. Beyond the legal and institutional challenges, Figliuzzi noted an internal shift within the FBI, traditionally marked by tension between field offices and headquarters. Initially, he explained, some agents in the field were indifferent when officials at headquarters were dismissed.

“So when the field first heard, hey, a bunch of suits were walked out of headquarters, they kind of shrugged,” he said. But as it became clear that thousands of field agents might also be at risk of losing their jobs, the mood changed dramatically.

“Now that thousands of agents are in peril, that their jobs are in peril in the field, that’s got their attention,” Figliuzzi observed.

With Patel’s confirmation process looming, the FBI faces an unprecedented crisis, as many agents brace for an administration they believe is determined to dismantle and reshape the bureau. As the battle over control of the FBI escalates, the future of America’s top law enforcement agency remains uncertain.