Gavin Newsom is calling out the “waste,” “fraud,” and “abuse” on display by FBI Director Kash Patel, who frequently travels via government jet to see his girlfriend.
The California governor on Wednesday shared a clip of Patel dismissing concerns about his usage of the plane during an appearance on Katie Miller’s podcast last month.
“FRAUD ALERT: FBI Director Kash Patel admits he uses his taxpayer-funded private jet to watch concerts and hang out with his girlfriend,” Newom’s press office wrote on X. “WASTE, FRAUD, ABUSE!”
Patel, 45, has often traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, to visit aspiring country music talent Alexis Wilkins, 27. Patel has also been criticized for using the $60 million plane to attend UFC matches, hockey games, and hunting trips.
Patel told Miller that past FBI directors were also allowed to go on vacation.
“No one told them not to go on vacation,” Patel said. “And it’s ironic that they’re saying, ‘Oh, you’re going on vacation, or you’re going to see your girlfriend perform.’ If I was actually abusing it, I would go see every one of her shows. I think I get to, like, 15 percent.”
Executive branch policy states that Patel must use the FBI’s plane for personal matters. Under the policy, Patel pays the equivalent of a ticket on a commercial flight, while taxpayers cover the rest of the expenses. Patel has claimed that rerouting his travel through government airfields rather than commercial airports saves taxpayers $4,000 to $7,000 per trip.
Patel told Miller that he and Wilkins’ meet-ups aren’t excessive, and that they agreed to just “cross paths when we can.”
“We took that on and said, ‘Well, let’s figure this out,’ because we don’t want to just run around,” he said. “And she’s totally understanding. She’s like, ‘If you can’t see me this weekend, that’s OK.’”
But Patel, who previously criticized his predecessors’ usage of government planes, has taken at least six trips to Nashville and ten trips to Las Vegas, where he has a home, Just the News reported last month.
Patel has also deployed other government resources at his disposal when it comes to Wilkins.
In November, MS NOW reported that Patel had tasked a group of FBI agents to provide personal security for Wilkins. Two people with knowledge of the arrangement said it was unprecedented and could prevent them from conducting urgent work-related duties in and around Nashville.
On at least two occasions, Patel ordered Wilkins’ security detail to give an allegedly drunk friend of hers a lift home.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
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