Republican Sen. Grassley probing FBI Director Patel’s travel and spending
(CNN) — Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley has asked FBI Director Kash Patel to defend his use of FBI aircraft and purchase of BMWs in a letter obtained by House and Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats and reviewed by CNN, an indication that the powerful Republican chairman is conducting his own oversight of Patel’s controversial spending of taxpayer dollars.
In a May 5 letter, Grassley asks Patel to list each flight he took on an FBI aircraft, share their cost, and whether the flights were for personal or official purposes. If a flight was for a personal reason, Grassley asks Patel if he has reimbursed the government. The Republican chairman also presses Patel to provide a cost analysis breakdown of the BMW purchases compared to a similar Chevy suburban and outline the fuel and storage comparisons.
The FBI director has stirred controversy, particularly after a video of him chugging beer in the Team USA men’s hockey team locker room went viral after the Olympics gold-medal game in February – raising questions about Patel’s use of FBI resources for what appeared to be a fan’s personal trip. The FBI has maintained that Patel was in Milan in an official capacity and held six public events and two classified events, including meetings related to the Olympic security apparatus.
The FBI defended Patel’s travel costs in a social media post saying, “This FBI is more efficient and effective in every way” and claimed his personal travel was much lower than former directors Chris Wray and James Comey.
Much of the criticism of Patel’s Olympics trip centers on his use of an FBI Gulfstream jet for personal travel since taking office.
It’s a criticism that has also dogged previous FBI directors, and before, attorneys general. And Patel himself, before becoming FBI director, criticized the use of the FBI plane by his predecessor Wray, suggesting it should be grounded.
“Chris Wray doesn’t need a government-funded G-5 jet to go to vacation,” Patel said when appearing on Glenn Beck’s podcast in 2024. “Maybe we ground that plane — $15,000 every time it takes off.”
But just like it wasn’t up to Wray then, Patel doesn’t have a choice in how he travels.
A post-9/11 government regulation requires the attorney general, and since 2011, the FBI director, to use government aircraft for all travel, including personal trips. The reason for the policy, according to the Justice Department, is that the president and other top officials must always have secure communications available with the FBI director and attorney general, in case of national security or other emergencies.
Grassley gave Patel until May 19 to respond to the voluntary request.
In the letter, Grassley, a Republican, points to other times he has probed an FBI director’s spending habits.
“For decades, regardless of which political party is in the White House, I have worked to ensure that taxpayers dollars are protected from waste, fraud, and abuse” Grassley wrote.
CNN has reached out to Grassley’s office for comment.
Grassley’s letter comes as House and Senate Democrats have launched their own probe into Patel’s spending, including references to whistleblower accounts.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
CNN’s Evan Perez and Isabelle Khurshudyan contributed to this report.
