Click here or the image above to watch Senator Capito’s questions.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, questioned Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel during a hearing to consider the president’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request, as well as the many priorities of the bureau.

HIGHLIGHTS:

ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SYSTEM (CJIS) FACILITY IN CLARKSBURG 

SENATOR CAPITO: “I know on April 17th, you traveled to West Virginia to visit the CJIS facility…for those of you are unaware, this is where all the background checks, but also the fingerprints for purchase of firearms. And the numbers are quite staggering when you see how many applications are processed every month. I think it's amazing the work that they do out there. The employees out there really appreciated your visit. You've already mentioned that maybe some of the diffusing of some of the D.C. FBI would be going to hopefully into the Clarksburg facility. What was your impression when you were there, or did they have the resources to do everything they need to do? There's a DOD facility right next door where they share information. What was your general impression, and how can we get the resources there that they might need through this budget?” 

DIRECTOR PATEL: “My general impression aligns with yours. I was wildly impressed with the work that's done out there. It's the unsexy work that the FBI does on a daily basis, whether it's gun background checks, national criminal information background checks. State and local law enforcement relies on us, and every time they have a traffic stop, they're calling and adjudicate the individual they're confronting or when they're going to get a search warrant. We have about 1,000 acres out there, it’s a beautiful property. It is available for expansion. We are almost maxed out when it comes to how many people we can currently put there. We are putting some more folks there throughout this reorientation program. But you can never have enough computer data being ingested. And what I'm working on specifically to improve CJIS, which will improve the work that happens in every single state, is the reporting in data cycle from state and local authorities, because without that, CJIS doesn't work. It only works as well as with our state and local law enforcement. So, I'm working on that to move to some of those folks and make sure they are reporting in but we would love to continue to expand the footprint there.” 

SENATOR CAPITO: “Well, anything we can do there, I think the work they do is phenomenal.” 

ON COMBATTING DRUG CARTELS  

SENATOR CAPITO: “I would encourage you to do everything – and you are – to prevent the drug smuggling and working against the transnational criminal organizations.”

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