Patel is a controversial nominee, having long raged against the so-called Deep State and prioritized his loyalty to Trump.

Kash Patel, a one-time aide to President Donald Trump, will inch closer to leading the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) when he sits for his US Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday. Patel, a former Department of Defence (DoD) chief of staff, is a fervent Trump supporter and a fellow critic of the US government's top law enforcement agency.

Trump's nominee for FBI director will face probing questions from U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats about his credentials and history of making false claims about the agency he's been tapped to lead.