President Donald Trump on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, expressed confidence in FBI Director Kash Patel, following a media report suggesting he was considering removing Patel from his position.
“He is doing a great job I think,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked about the report.
Earlier, the White House denied claims that the president was contemplating Patel’s dismissal.
The report, published by MS NOW—formerly MSNBC—cited three unnamed sources who said Trump and his senior aides had grown increasingly frustrated with Patel over a series of negative media stories. The outlet alleged that Trump had discussed replacing Patel with Andrew Bailey, the FBI’s co-deputy director.
By law, FBI directors serve 10-year terms to ensure the bureau’s independence from political influence and are subject to Senate confirmation.
Patel, a longtime Trump ally, previously served as an adviser to both the director of national intelligence and the secretary of defense during Trump’s first term. He has publicly advocated for reducing the FBI’s intelligence-gathering powers and removing employees who, in his view, do not support Trump’s agenda.
In response to the MS NOW report, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt dismissed the story as “completely made up.”
Posting on X, Leavitt shared a photo of Trump and Patel that she said was taken in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Leavitt said Trump and Patel were in a meeting when the report was published, and the president reacted to it by laughing and saying, “What? That’s totally false. Come on Kash, let’s take a picture to show them you’re doing a great job!”
MS NOW, however, said it stood by its reporting.
Since Trump’s return to office in January, more than 200 employees have been dismissed from the Justice Department, which oversees the FBI. Among them are dozens of officials who previously worked on criminal investigations involving Trump or his associates.
