Kash Patel has a roughly 1 in 4 chance of being named President-elect Donald Trump's next nominee for FBI director, according to predictive betting platform Polymarket.
Current FBI Director Christopher Wray, a Republican whom Trump nominated to lead the FBI in 2017, has fallen out of his favor and is likely to be replaced after Trump is inaugurated on January 20.
Patel, a staunch Trump loyalist who served in multiple roles during his first administration, may be the most controversial of several names floated as potential Trump picks to lead the country's top law enforcement agency.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe warned during a CNN appearance last week that "no part of the FBI's mission" would be "safe" under Patel's control, who has vowed to dismantle the "deep state" and punish Trump's critics.
Polymarket, which was funded in part by longtime Trump backer Peter Thiel, gave Patel only a 26 percent chance of being nominated by Trump, as of Monday afternoon. The favorite was Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who was given a 54 percent chance.
Newsweek reached out for comment to Trump's office via email on Monday.
Following the failure of Trump's controversial selection of former congressman Matt Gaetz as U.S. attorney general, bettors may be banking on Trump's reluctance to choose another nominee likely to face high hurdles in being confirmed by the Senate.
Former FBI Special Agent Daniel Brunner recently told CNN that Patel could cause "massive damage" to the bureau while pointing out that his "résumé isn't traditional" for a potential FBI director.
During the Trump administration, Patel worked on the staff of the National Security Council, as a senior director of counterterrorism and a deputy director of national intelligence. His last role was as chief of staff to then-acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.
Patel, who was a federal public defender and prosecutor before joining the Trump White House, is currently described on his website as a "Senior Advisor for National Security, Defense, and Intelligence to President Trump."
After Trump left office, Patel authored a book titled Government Gangsters, which calls for eliminating a "sinister cabal of corrupt law enforcement personnel, intelligence agents, and military officials at the highest levels of government." He writes that they attempted to "overthrow" Trump.
Patel has also used a slogan associated with the pro-Trump conspiracy theory QAnon, which falsely claims that Trump is fighting a secret war against a cabal of deep state Democrats and other "elites" who drink the blood of children and run a child sex trafficking ring.
In 2022, Patel penned a children's book, The Plot Against the King, which casts Trump as the victor in a battle between "King Donald" and the evil "Hillary Queenton."
He has since authored two sequels. The most recent, titled The Plot Against the King 3: The Return of the King, was published last month.
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