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In today's issue:

▪ Fed meets amid political storm

▪ House GOP eyes stopgap

▪ Trump’s UK state visit 2.0

▪ Rubio’s Gaza ceasefire doubts

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FBI Director Kash Patel faces a high-stake hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee today as he fends off frustration from the right over his handling of the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

Patel took to Fox News on Monday to defend his role in the manhunt for the suspect in Kirk's killing. The FBI chief waved away criticism of a stumble last week in which he announced the arrest of a “subject” — only to reverse course less than two hours later to say they had been released.

“I was being transparent with working with the public on our findings as I had them, I stated in that message that we had a subject and that we were going to interview him, and we did, and he was released,” Patel said.

“Could I have worded it a little better in the heat of the moment, sure, but do I regret putting it out? Absolutely not.”

After a multi-day manhunt, authorities announced Friday the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, saying his father pushed him to turn himself in. Robinson is set to make his first court appearance today.

MAGA BACKLASH: Patel has always been seen as a controversial pick for the top FBI role, with Democrats warning he would politicize the independent law enforcement agency. Now he’s facing a bigger problem: growing criticism on the right.

“He performed terribly in the last few days, and it’s not clear whether he has the operational expertise to investigate, infiltrate, and disrupt the violent movements—of whatever ideology—that threaten the peace in the United States,” anti-DEI crusader Christopher Rufo posted on the social platform X on Friday.

Steve Bannon, who regularly hosted Patel on his “War Room” podcast before his FBI appointment, conceded the Kirk shooting manhunt “was not great law enforcement work.”

Tuesday’s Senate hearing — along with a Wednesday hearing before the House Judiciary Committee — will show whether that frustration extends to Republicans in Congress, and give Patel a chance to confront the criticism.

▪ The Hill: Lawmakers set to grill Patel in back-to-back hearings.

▪ Fox News: Knives are out for the embattled FBI director.

Despite some reported tensions within the administration, President Trump has publicly backed Patel.

"I am very proud of the FBI," Trump told Fox News Digital over the weekend. "Kash—and everyone else—they have done a great job."

Patel has portrayed his stumbles as being the consequence of atypical transparency, also claiming the 33 hours it took to catch Robinson were relatively fast compared with other high-profile manhunts.

“I challenge anyone out there to find a director who has been more transparent and more willing to work with the media with high-profile cases or any cases that the FBI is handling than we have been under my leadership,” Patel said Monday.

FRIENDLY TURF: Republicans on the House and Senate Judiciary committees are also likely to bring up other issues and investigations that fall in Patel’s wheelhouse, focusing on Trump’s political opponents.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote to Patel in July asking him to open a new probe into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email server.

The FBI last month searched the home and office of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who has become a relentless Trump critic in his second term. An FBI affidavit explained the Trump administration believes Bolton may have wrongly revealed classified information in drafting his memoir, “The Room Where It Happened.”

The bureau is also reportedly investigating former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey for possible false statements to Congress.

▪ The Hill: Right adopts take-no-prisoners approach to 'radical left' after Kirk assassination.

▪ The Hill: Trump ramps up attacks on left after Kirk killing.

▪ Washington Post: Vice President Vance vows retribution on liberal institutions after Kirk's killing.

Smart Take with Blake Burman

After months of negotiations, the White House is now signaling that a deal could be taking shape to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. The race has been on to find an American buyer for the Chinese social media platform since 2024, when Congress passed a broadly bipartisan bill to shut down the app in the U.S., if it wasn’t sold. Kevin O’Leary, chairman of O’Leary Ventures, told me there have always been buyers for TikTok, but the difference now is that China could agree to be the seller.

“At the end of the day, if Xi can own 20 percent, it’s, you know, face saving,”

© The Hill