- Kash Patel testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, in his first appearance before a Senate panel since September 2025.
- The hearing turned on a spring 2026 FBI policy change that removed the automatic disqualification of job applicants with a history of prostitution or bestiality-related offenses, evaluating such cases individually instead.
- Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana mocked the explanation, asking Patel, "Why didn't you just say what planet did you parachute in from?"
- Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee's top Democrat, called Patel "the least qualified and most partisan FBI director," extending public calls for his removal that date back to April.