Career Timeline of Kash Patel: Major Achievements and Milestones

How Kash Patel built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.

Kash Patel is an American lawyer who currently serves as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 2025. He also briefly served as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from February to April 2025.

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements Controversies & Scandals

2005: Started working as a public defender

In 2005, Kash Patel began his career as a public defender in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

2012: Started working at the Department of Justice

In 2012, Kash Patel began working as a staff member at the Department of Justice.

2012: Served on the case against the perpetrators of the 2012 Benghazi attack

Kash Patel temporarily served as a representative for the Criminal Division on the case against the perpetrators of the 2012 Benghazi attack, but was removed due to disagreements.

2013: Assigned to the National Security Division

In 2013, Kash Patel was assigned to the National Security Division as a prosecutor, concurrently serving as a legal liaison for the Joint Special Operations Command.

2016: Investigated theory about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election

In 2016, Kash Patel investigated the theory that Ukrainians were promulgating information about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.

2016: FBI Investigation into Donald Trump's Campaign

In 2016, the FBI investigation into Donald Trump's presidential campaign began, which Kash Patel later wrote about in his 2023 book, "Government Gangsters".

April 2017: Began working for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

In April 2017, Kash Patel began working for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, led by Representative Devin Nunes.

2017: Left the Department of Justice

In 2017, Kash Patel left the Department of Justice and became a senior aide to Devin Nunes.

2017: Grand Jury Subpoena

In 2017, a grand jury subpoena was issued for Kash Patel's communication records, which he later argued in a 2024 lawsuit was retaliation for his work on the Nunes memo.

February 2018: Nunes memo release

In February 2018, the Nunes memo, primarily authored by Kash Patel, was released, alleging procedural failures in the FBI's FISA warrant application for Trump campaign advisor Carter Page.

February 2019: Joined the National Security Council

In February 2019, Kash Patel joined the National Security Council's International Organizations and Alliances directorate.

July 2019: Appointed senior director of the counterterrorism directorate at the National Security Council

In July 2019, Kash Patel was appointed senior director of the counterterrorism directorate at the National Security Council.

February 2020: Became an advisor to Richard Grenell

In February 2020, Kash Patel became an advisor to Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, later becoming the principal deputy director of national intelligence.

April 2020: Trump's plan to appoint Patel as deputy director of the FBI halted

In April 2020, Trump's plan to oust FBI director Christopher A. Wray and appoint William Evanina to lead the bureau, with Kash Patel as deputy director, was halted by Attorney General William Barr.

August 2020: Traveled to Damascus to meet with Ali Mamlouk

In August 2020, Kash Patel and Roger D. Carstens traveled to Damascus to meet with Ali Mamlouk, the director of Syria's National Security Bureau.

November 2020: Appointed chief of staff to acting secretary of defense

In November 2020, Kash Patel was appointed chief of staff to acting secretary of defense Christopher C. Miller.

December 2020: Sought appointment as deputy director of the CIA

In December 2020, Donald Trump sought to appoint Kash Patel as the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, which was met with resistance from CIA director Gina Haspel.

2020: Became principal deputy director of national intelligence

In 2020, Kash Patel became the principal deputy director of national intelligence until May, when he returned to the National Security Council.

January 2021: Leveraged association with Trump to promote business ventures

After Donald Trump left office in January 2021, Kash Patel leveraged his association with Trump to promote several business ventures and made recurring appearances on several podcasts.

2021: Management of Trishul and Founding of The Kash Foundation

After Trump left office in 2021, Patel managed Trishul, a consulting company. He also founded The Kash Foundation, a nonprofit that intended to financially aid people charged in the context of the January 6 United States Capitol attack and their families, and sells merchandise branded as K$H.

2021: Host of Kash's Corner

From 2021 to 2023, Patel was the host of Kash's Corner, a show on EpochTV, a streaming television service operated by the Falun Gong-affiliated newspaper The Epoch Times.

February 2022: Interview with Trump on Kash's Corner

In February 2022, Patel interviewed Trump on Kash's Corner, a show on EpochTV.

April 2022: Advised Trump to fire senior Department of Justice officials

In April 2022, Kash Patel told an audience that he had advised Donald Trump to fire senior Department of Justice officials.

April 2022: Named to the board of Trump Media & Technology Group

In April 2022, Kash Patel was named to the board of Trump Media & Technology Group.

April 2022: Director of Trump Media & Technology Group

In April 2022, Patel was listed as the director of Trump Media & Technology Group. As director, he described promoting QAnon-adjacent accounts on Truth Social, Trump Media's social media service, as an intentional business decision to "capture audiences".

June 2022: Investigation into Toxic Corporate Culture

In June 2022, Patel was paid $130,000 to investigate claims that the company's co-founders, Andy Dean and Wes Moss, had "fostered an unpredictable and toxic corporate culture".

June 2022: Trump Requests Access to Administration Records for Patel

In June 2022, Trump requested that the National Archives and Records Administration grant Patel and journalist John Solomon access to administration records.

2022: Publication of 'The Plot Against the King'

In 2022, Kash Patel published "The Plot Against the King", a children's storybook about the Steele dossier, through Brave Books, and also wrote "The Plot Against the King: 2000 Mules".

May 2023: Lawsuit Against Department of Defense

In May 2023, Kash Patel sued the Department of Defense due to delays in the prepublication review of his memoir, "Government Gangsters".

October 2023: Revocation of Designations

In October 2023, the designations for Patel and John Solomon to access administration records were revoked.

2023: Host of Kash's Corner

From 2021 to 2023, Patel was the host of Kash's Corner, a show on EpochTV, a streaming television service operated by the Falun Gong-affiliated newspaper The Epoch Times.

2023: Publication of 'Government Gangsters'

In 2023, Kash Patel wrote "Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy", which includes claims about the FBI investigation into Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

July 2024: Guest Host for War Room

After Steve Bannon, a former Trump advisor, surrendered to a federal prison in July 2024 for defying a subpoena from the Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, Patel served as a part-time guest host for Bannon's podcast War Room.

September 2024: Lawsuit Against FBI Director Christopher A. Wray

In September 2024, Kash Patel sued FBI director Christopher A. Wray and other Department of Justice officials, claiming a 2017 grand jury subpoena for his communication records was retaliation for his work on the Nunes memo. The case was later dismissed.

September 2024: Vow to Close FBI Headquarters

In September 2024, Patel vowed to close the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the FBI headquarters, "reopen it the next day as a museum of the 'deep state'", and "take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals".

November 2024: Potential Appointment to FBI or DOJ

In November 2024, President-elect Donald Trump intended to appoint Patel to a high-profile position in the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Justice. Trump later planned to remove Christopher A. Wray as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, interviewing several candidates for the position, including Patel and former Michigan representative Mike Rogers. On November 30, Trump announced that he would dismiss Wray and named Patel as his nominee for the position.

2024: Release of 'The Plot Against the King 3'

Following the 2024 presidential election, Kash Patel released "The Plot Against the King 3: The Return of the King", the third book in his children's series.

2024: Consultant for Elite Depot/Shein

For nine months in 2024, Patel was a consultant for Elite Depot, a company based in the Cayman Islands that operates Shein, an e-commerce platform.

January 2025: Appeared before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

In January 2025, Kash Patel appeared before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

March 2025: Departure from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

According to The Washington Post, by March 2025 Patel was no longer at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

April 2025: Served as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

In April 2025, Kash Patel served as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

June 2025: Defamation Lawsuit Against Frank Figliuzzi

In June 2025, Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI assistant director, due to comments made on MSNBC's Morning Joe suggesting Patel spent more time in nightclubs than at FBI headquarters.

August 2025: Default Judgment in Stewartson Defamation Case

In August 2025, a federal judge issued a default judgment awarding Kash Patel and his foundation $250,000 after Jim Stewartson failed to respond to the defamation lawsuit.

November 2025: MI5 Request and Job Protection

In November 2025, The New York Times reported that MI5 director Ken McCallum had asked Patel in May to protect the job of an FBI agent stationed in London who worked with high-tech surveillance technology. Patel agreed to find funding to keep the position, but the job had already been slated for elimination as the White House moved to cut the FBI budget.

April 2026: Defamation Lawsuit Against The Atlantic Magazine

In April 2026, Kash Patel sued The Atlantic magazine and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick for defamation over an article alleging he had alarmed colleagues with excessive drinking episodes and unexplained absences, seeking $250 million in damages.