politics
Kash Patel Denies Excessive Drinking Allegations at Senate Hearing
At a May 12, 2026, budget hearing, Patel called The Atlantic's mid-April reporting on his alleged excessive drinking 'unequivocally, categorically false' and said he would not be tarnished by baseless claims. He shouted over Sen. Chris Van Hollen, accused the Maryland Democrat of drinking on the taxpayer dime during a visit to a deported Salvadoran national, and offered to take an alcohol use…
May 12, 3:57 PM·2m read6 sources
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FBI Director Kash Patel told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on May 12, 2026, that allegations he drinks excessively on the job and has at times been unreachable to staff are unequivocally, categorically false. Patel made the denial under questioning from Sen.
Chris Van Hollen, the ranking member of the subcommittee, during the annual budget hearing in Washington that also featured other senior law enforcement officials.
Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, cited a mid-April 2026 article in The Atlantic that reported Patel's alcohol consumption had become a recurring source of concern across the government, based on interviews with more than two dozen people including current and former FBI officials.
The Atlantic reported that Patel's security detail struggled to rouse him because he appeared intoxicated on at least one occasion and that agents sought SWAT-level breaching equipment to gain access to a room where he was unresponsive. Patel responded that he will not be tarnished by baseless allegations.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Atlantic has stated it stands by its reporting and will vigorously defend against the meritless lawsuit.
During the hearing Patel shouted over Van Hollen and accused him of being the only person slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gang-banging rapist. He accused Van Hollen of running up a $7,000 bar tab in Washington, DC, at the Lobby Bar and of being the only person in the room that has been drinking on taxpayer dime during the day.
Van Hollen visited Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador in April 2025 while Garcia was jailed there.
Garcia was arrested in Maryland and wrongfully deported amid President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. He was deported to El Salvador on March 15, 2025, along with around 250 additional suspected gang members. U.S. in 2019 based on threats from a rival gang.
