{"id":191,"date":"2026-05-12T22:06:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=191"},"modified":"2026-05-12T22:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:06:22","slug":"fbi-director-kash-patel-denies-drinking-allegations-in-heated-senate-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=191","title":{"rendered":"FBI Director Kash Patel denies drinking allegations in heated Senate exchange"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 FBI Director Kash Patel angrily lashed out at a Democratic lawmaker at a budget hearing Tuesday, calling allegations that he drinks excessively on the job and has been unreachable at times to his staff \u201cunequivocally, categorically false.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Hegseth faces bipartisan pushback about weapons drawdown during the Iran war<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI will not be tarnished by baseless allegations,\u201d Patel told Sen. Chris Van Hollen when the Maryland Democrat confronted him about a recent article in The Atlantic magazine that painted an unflattering portrait of his leadership of the nation\u2019s premier federal law enforcement agency. Patel has sued over the story. The Atlantic has said it stands by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the \u201cmeritless lawsuit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dir. Kash Patel: “The only person that was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the tax payer dollar with a convicted gang-banging rapist was you.”<\/p>\n

Sen. @ChrisVanHollen: “The fact that you mention that indicates you do not know what you are talking about.” pic.twitter.com\/a79rHAeUOY<\/p>\n

Read more Missouri Supreme Court upholds new US House districts backed by Trump<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CSPAN (@cspan) May 12, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Patel shouted over Van Hollen and sought to turn the tables by accusing him of \u201cslinging margaritas\u201d in El Salvador, a reference to a visit the Democrat paid last year to Kilmar Abrego Garcia while he was jailed there following his arrest in Maryland.<\/span><\/p>\n

The testy exchange occurred at an annual Senate committee budget hearing featuring Patel and other senior law enforcement leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Trump downplays differences with China\u2019s Xi over Iran as he heads to Beijing for high-stakes summit<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI will not be tarnished by baseless allegations,\u201d Patel told Senator Chris Van Hollen when the Maryland Democrat confronted him about a recent report in The Atlantic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nFBI Director Kash Patel denies drinking allegations in heated Senate exchange - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=191\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FBI Director Kash Patel denies drinking allegations in heated Senate exchange - 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