Politics

NEW: FBI Agent Applications Surge Under Kash Patel’s Leadership

Published

5 days ago

April 3, 2025

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is seeing a stunning spike in new agent applications under its new director, Kash Patel — signaling that confidence in federal law enforcement may be on the mend.

According to internal data reviewed by Fox News Digital, the FBI received 5,577 new agent applications in March, the first full month with Patel at the helm. That figure nearly doubles the monthly average since 2016 and marks the highest number of submissions in nearly a decade.

The last comparable surge came in April 2016, when the bureau logged 5,283 applications. By contrast, the average in 2023 was 2,797 per month. Even in early 2024, before Patel took office, the average monthly tally sat at just 3,383.

“Director Patel and Deputy Director (Dan) Bongino have put a major emphasis on restoring confidence in federal law enforcement and boosting new agent recruiting,” FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “These record early returns certainly suggest the new FBI is heading in the right direction.”

Patel, a former national security prosecutor and House Intelligence Committee counsel was confirmed as FBI Director on February 20 in a tight 51-49 vote. His nomination was fiercely contested by Democrats and some Republicans who expressed concerns over his past criticism of the bureau and his role in drafting the 2018 Nunes Memo, which challenged the FBI’s surveillance practices during the Trump-Russia investigation.

January 30, 2025 – Washington DC: The Senate Intelligence Committee examines the nomination of Kashyap Patel for Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Since taking office, Patel has prioritized restoring faith in the agency, launching aggressive reforms and task force initiatives aimed at crime reduction and institutional transparency. The March surge follows a promising uptick in January — the same month President Donald Trump officially returned to office and Patel’s nomination went before the Senate.

That month, 4,143 applications were submitted, the first time since August 2020 that monthly figures broke the 4,000 threshold. According to the data, more than 10,000 new agent applications have been submitted since January.

“The record number of FBI job applications in March shows that people are inspired by Kash Patel’s commitment to restoring integrity and effectiveness at the bureau,” said Erica Knight, a senior advisor to Patel. “Americans are putting their trust in his leadership to rebuild the FBI and keep our communities safe.”

Knight added, “This is just the beginning.”

“Kash is dedicated to creating a stronger, more trusted FBI that serves the American people the way it was always meant to,” she said.

Patel’s leadership has also seen a reinvigorated effort to combat gang violence. One of the most high-profile arrests occurred just weeks into his tenure — the takedown of alleged MS-13 gang leader Joel Vargas-Escobar, tied to 11 brutal murders.