James Comer To Meet FBI Nominee Patel To Start Planning How To 'Disrupt the Deep State'

House Oversight Committee James Comer said he will help President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, to "disrupt the deep state."

"I want (Patel) to know that our committee will assist in any way possible to help him disrupt the Deep State," Comer said in a recent interview, referring to a term largely used by a faction of the Republican party to refer to a conspiracy of behind-the-scenes officials who run the government in the shadows.

Patel has been a vocal critic of the FBI. He said in different interviews that, should Trump return to office, he would "come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections."

Moreover, Trump said during the campaign that Patel's book, Government Gangsters, is a "blueprint" for his administration. The book calls for "comprehensive housecleaning" of the FBI, which includes firing "the top ranks." It is unclear whether Patel has the votes to be confirmed, but Patel has promised to rebrand the FBI headquarters as a "museum of the deep state."

Comer said he is eager to help Patel in his endeavor, suggesting the committee he leads could give him information about officials who "kept coming up in our depositions and interviews of people that were obstructing and covering up." He was referring to the GOP's unsuccessful attempt to impeach Biden, which he led.

"[Patel] and I are fixing to meet because with respect to him, they need to hold some people accountable for a cover up," Comer said. "It's a big deal to know that the president of the United States is on the take, and yet you do nothing. And I would go further, obstructed our investigation and coordinated with the media to write things that just weren't true."

Patel seeks to replace current FBI Director Christopher Wray, who had several years left on his 10-year appointment as FBI head but announced he will step down when Trump takes office following several attacks from the Republican. Trump nominated Wray in 2017 after firing James Comey, but their relationship soured before Trump left office in 2021. Trump called Wray's resignation a "great day for America" and said he had done everything to "interfere with the success and future of America."

In his final interview before leaving office, Wray referred to the nomination of Patel, saying he wasn't going to "weigh in on specific people or their rhetoric," but that from his standpoint "facts and law drive investigations, not politics or partisan preference."