FBI Director Kash Patel is once again facing criticism, this time for a trip to the 2026 Olympics. Footage of him celebrating with the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s hockey team has fueled accusations that Patel used government resources to attend the Milan Cortina Games and misled the public about the nature of the trip.
Patel defends partying with men’s hockey team after gold medal win
After the U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team defeated Canada to win a gold medal, the first time the U.S. men’s hockey team has won the top Olympic prize since 1980, footage of the team celebrating included a surprise appearance by Patel. In a video of the team’s celebration, Patel can be seen rowdily cheering, singing and seemingly chugging beer with the hockey players in their locker room.
While it was previously publicized that Patel had traveled to Italy while the country hosted the Winter Olympic Games, the FBI director had portrayed the trip as an official visit related to security for the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games.
Patel downplayed the hockey celebration video.
“For the very concerned media – yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys,” Patel wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Nonetheless, the contrast between Patel’s portrayal of the trip and that of other conservatives and the images of partying with athletes have led to accusations of dishonesty.
“Why did your team continuously lie about your trip?” liberal news organization MeidasTouch posted in response.
Growing criticisms of Patel’s leadership, spending
Patel has been criticized for using his position to push President Donald Trump’s agenda, including the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and the firing of FBI personnel for seemingly political reasons. He has also come under scrutiny for using taxpayer-funded resources in ways that some have deemed excessive, inappropriate and hypocritical. These include providing a security detail, including SWAT members, for his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee started a probe of Patel’s spending last year, noting that he had taken an FBI jet for seemingly private trips. Under current security regulations, FBI directors are required to use the agency’s jet but must reimburse the government for the cost of trips based on the commercial rate of the flights. House Democrats criticized Patel for using the jet for personal excursions such as a hunting retreat, a golfing trip, and “an overnight date with your girlfriend,” as Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., accused him.
Patel’s use of the jet is particularly notable given that he previously criticized then-FBI Director Christopher Wray for similar expenses; Patel said on his podcast in 2023 that the government should “ground Chris Wray’s private jet that he pays for with taxpayer dollars to hop around the country. You take away the fancy new fleet of cars from DOJ that they’re going to use to shuffle around executives.”
In contrast to his previous criticism, Patel has allegedly used the $60 million FBI jet for trips such as a flight to Pennsylvania to watch Wilkins sing the national anthem at a Pennsylvania State University wrestling event.
The images of Patel partying with hockey players have only added to criticisms that he’s living a jet-setting lifestyle through the use of FBI resources. Given his past statements about reining in such taxpayer-funded trips for FBI directors, Patel’s trips will likely continue to draw criticism and calls for oversight concerning his use of government resources.
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