FBI Director Kash Patel Denies Drinking Allegations in Heated Senate Exchange; Agrees to Alcohol Test
Patel denied reports of heavy drinking and said he would take the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test side by side with Van Hollen.
- On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel engaged in a confrontational exchange with Senator Chris Van Hollen during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, following weeks of scrutiny regarding his conduct.
- Patel "unequivocally and categorically" denied allegations first reported by The Atlantic that he has engaged in excessive drinking, which purportedly led to unexplained absences and episodes where security personnel were unable to rouse him.
- When Senator Van Hollen challenged him to take the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test —a standard screening tool for alcohol abuse—Patel snapped back that he would take "any test" the senator was willing to take alongside him.
- During the heated testimony, Patel launched a personal counter-offensive, accusing Van Hollen of "slinging margaritas" on the taxpayer dime during a trip to El Salvador; the senator dismissed these claims as "provably false" and based on a staged hoax.
- Despite the personal nature of the exchange, Patel used the hearing to defend the FBI’s $12.5 billion budget request for 2027 and denied that agency resources were being diverted to investigate journalists or handle his personal $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic.
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111 Articles
In Congress, FBI director Kash Patel defends the budget proposal for 2027. At the same time, he rejects reports of excessive alcohol consumption and absences. An analysis.
Patel Angrily Denies Drinking Allegations
FBI Director Kash Patel angrily lashed out at a Democratic lawmaker at a budget hearing Tuesday, calling allegations that he drinks excessively on the job and has been unreachable to his staff at times "unequivocally, categorically false," the AP reports. "I will not be tarnished by baseless allegations and fraudulent...
The U.S. Federal Police Director (FBI), Kash Patel, was taken with virulence to a democrat legislator during a budget hearing on Tuesday, calling the allegations that he would drink too much at work and would sometimes be unreachable by his staff "undeniably and categorically false".
NEWS HEADLINES: Patel challenges Sen. Van Hollen to joint alcohol screening during hearing dispute – One America News Network
(Background) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel on May 12, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) / (R) Screenshot taken via: One America News – live feed. OAN Staff Jenna Lee5:26 PM – Tuesday, May 12, 2026 During a combative Tuesday afternoon hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, FBI Director Kash Patel engaged in heated verbal altercations with Maryland Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen…
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