I once briefed the White House on Cabinet nominees. What I’d say about Kash Patel.
Patel should face withering questioning by senators who care about the importance of Americans’ trusting the FBI to do the right thing.

The FBI could soon be led by someone who couldn’t make it through the background investigation required of all FBI employees. Kashyap “Kash” Patel will face the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday as he seeks to lead the nation’s most powerful law enforcement and domestic security agency. In 25 years at the FBI, I led numerous high-level background inquiries, and, later, as an assistant director, I briefed the White House on serious issues arising from nominee investigations. In a field ripe with questionable candidates, Patel is one of the most ill-suited Cabinet nominees — not just now, but of all time.

Patel has only threadbare work experience, highlighted by his term as a senior adviser to the president on the National Security Council, compared with some previous directors who served as federal judges, U.S. attorneys and senior Justice Department executives. But his lack of experience, though worrisome, isn’t my biggest concern.