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US Senator Adam Schiff was among the fiercest critics of Kash Patel's nomination as FBI director, calling him a "political hack" and a "sycophant" unfit for the role. Despite strong opposition from Democrats, the Senate on Thursday confirmed Patel to lead the nation's top federal law enforcement agency. About half a dozen Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats gathered outside FBI headquarters earlier that day in a final attempt to block his confirmation.
"This is someone we cannot trust," said Senator Schiff of California. "This is someone who lacks the character to do this job, someone who lacks the integrity to do this job," he said, adding that even Republicans knew it.
"The only qualification Kash Patel has to be FBI director is that when everyone else in the first Trump administration said 'no, I won't do that, that crosses moral, ethical, legal lines,' Kash Patel said sign me up," said Mr Schiff.
Adam Schiff's sharp criticism has sparked speculation that he may be added to the list of "enemies" Kash Patel mentioned in his 2023 book Government Gangsters. Mr Patel, did not hold back in his response to Mr Schiff's comments. "Adam Schiff is the worst criminal in Congress in the last 250 years," he said. Billionaire Elon Musk echoed this, saying, "Adam Schiff is a criminal."
Adam Schiff is a criminal https://t.co/f2tbVUcsXg
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 20, 2025
Who is Adam Schiff?
Adam Schiff was born in Framingham, Massachusetts. He attended Monte Vista High School in Danville, California. Mr Schiff went on to study at Stanford University and later earned a law degree from Harvard Law School.
After graduating from law school, he moved to Los Angeles to work as a law clerk for Judge William Matthew Byrne, Jr. He later joined the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles as a federal prosecutor. During his six-year tenure, he prosecuted Richard Miller, the first FBI agent indicted for spying for Russia. He also established one of the first federal environmental crimes units in the office.
In 1996, Adam Schiff was elected to the California State Senate as its youngest member. During his term, he introduced the Schiff-Cardenas Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act of 2000, which funded programmes to keep at-risk youth out of prison.
His efforts to expand the Metro Gold Line earned him the nickname "Father of the Gold Line."
In 2000, Adam Schiff was elected to the US House of Representatives, serving on key committees, including Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence, where he later became chairman.
He led the first impeachment inquiry against US President Donald Trump and was a vocal critic of Russia's election interference. He also pushed for sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. As House Intelligence Committee chair, he pushed for deeper probes, facing criticism from Republicans. In 2023, the House pushed to punish him for spreading what they called false claims, but he denied any wrongdoing.
In 2024, Adam Schiff was elected to the US Senate, representing California.
Mr Schiff was instrumental in getting Congress to formally recognise the Armenian Genocide in 2019. He championed the Protecting Our Democracy Act, which aimed to prevent presidential abuse of power.