FBI Director Kash Patel said during a May 7 Congressional hearing that the bureau needs more funding than the amount included in a budget proposal put forward by President Donald Trump, which would slash over half a billion dollars from the agency’s budget.
During the House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing, Patel was asked by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) about the $545 million in spending cuts to the FBI in Trump’s “skinny budget” proposal for fiscal year 2026. Patel surprised DeLauro and other Democrats on the panel by expressing disagreement with the budget cuts put forward by the White House.
“The skinny budget is a proposal, and I’m working through the appropriations process to explain why we need more than what has been proposed,” Patel told DeLauro.
Current funding for the FBI sits at around $10.7 billion. Under Trump’s proposal, that amount would dip to $10.2 billion.
Patel said he’s working on increasing the budget beyond its current funding levels.
“So what do you need?” DeLauro asked. “You need $11.2 billion?”
“Approximately,” Patel replied.
Patel’s proposal would be nearly $1 billion dollars beyond the amount proposed by Trump.
The budget proposed by the White House says that the suggested $545 million in cuts were in part for “undoing the weaponization of the FBI that pervaded the previous administration, which included targeting peaceful pro-life protesters, concerned parents at school board meetings, and citizens opposed to radical transgender ideology.”
The White House proposal “reflects the President’s priority of reducing violent crime in American cities and protecting national security by getting FBI agents into the field by cutting FBI D.C. overhead and preserving existing law enforcement officers,” a statement accompanying the section on the FBI cuts said.
The statement said that the budget reflects “a new focus on counterintelligence and counterterrorism, while reducing non-law enforcement missions that do not align with the President’s priorities.”
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