Donald Trump is all set to enter the White House once again after clinching victory in the US presidential elections 2024, and defeating his Democrat rival Kamala Harris.
After winning the elections, Trump will likely commence the process of choosing his cabinet and selecting other high-ranking administration officials in the coming weeks.
Some of the top contenders for high-ranking posts are staunch Trump allies Jamie Dimon, Scott Bessent and John Paulson. However, among potential candidates for the high-ranking posts is Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel, an Indian-origin Trump loyalist, whose name is being floated as a choice for CIA Director.
A former Republican House staffer who served in various high-ranking staff roles in the defence and intelligence communities during Trump’s first term, Patel has frequently appeared on the campaign trail to rally support for the candidate.
Born in Garden City, New York on February 25, 1980, to Indian immigrant parents from East Africa, Patel has roots in Vadodara, Gujarat. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Richmond and earned a law degree, along with a Certificate in International Law from University College London.
Considered a Trump loyalist, Patel was given the top chair in the group of advisors appointed to the former president during his tenure, when he was facing backlash issues regarding the Ukraine war.
The 44-year-old served as the former Chief of Staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. Before that, as the Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, he executed several of then-President Donald Trump’s top priorities, including eliminating ISIS and al-Qaeda leadership like al-Baghdadi and Qasem al-Rimi, and the repatriation of many American hostages.
A significant point in Patel’s career came when he was hired by Rep. Devin Nunes, then chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to lead the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Patel played a significant role in drafting the “Nunes Memo,” a four-page report critical of the Justice Department’s methods in obtaining a surveillance warrant for a former Trump campaign volunteer. The memo garnered significant attention and impressed Trump.
Patel has also been at the centre of controversies several times throughout his career. In an interview with Trump ally Steve Bannon last year, he promised to “come after” politicians and journalists perceived to be enemies of the president-elect.
During Trump’s first term, Patel drew animosity from some more experienced national security officials, who saw him as volatile and too eager to please the then-president.
