All you need to know about Indian-origin Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel, Trump’s likely pick as next CIA chief

Indian-origin American Attorney and former US government official Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel, who is known as a loyalist of President-elect Donald Trump, is likely to be picked as the new chief of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as the Republican-era returns in the White House.

In the closing weeks of his previous administration that ended in 2020, Trump intended to pick Patel as the deputy director of CIA, which is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the US federal government.

However due to pressure from the White House officials, Trump, as reports claim, had to drop his plan.

Now after a landslide US Presidential election victory, Trump, who has the hold over the Senate and also enjoys the popular vote, is likely to appoint Patel as the CIA chief in his new administration.

At a big event last year, Trump told Patel, “Get ready, Kash. Get ready.”

More about Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel

Patel was born in 1980 in New York to Gujarati Indian parents who had immigrated to the United States through Canada.

He received a degree in criminal justice and history from the University of Richmond in 2002.

Two years later, he received a certificate in international law from the University College London and a graduate-entry professional duty from Pace University School of Law in 2005.

He worked as a public defender in Florida for eight years after graduating in 2005.

Patel was hired as a trial attorney in the US Department of Justice National Security Division in 2014.

Three years later, he was appointed senior counsel on counterterrorism at the House Select Committee on Intelligence.

In 2017, Patel significantly became the senior committee aide to House Intelligence Committee chair Devin Nunes.

He has reportedly played a role in Republicans’ opposition to the probe into Trump and Russia’s interference in the 2016 US polls.

He worked as a senior counsel at the House Reform and Oversight Committee after the Democrats took control over the House of Representatives in 2019.