Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) is taking aim at FBI Director Kash Patel, accusing him of using taxpayer-funded resources for personal gain. In a Sunday post on X, Slotkin shared a clip from her interview with ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis and said reports of abuse inside President Donald Trump's administration are emerging "every single day."
"Every single day, there's a story about people like Kash Patel in the Trump administration using taxpayer resources for their own benefit," Slotkin wrote. "All of these people should be held accountable."
The controversy centers on a report from the Associated Press that Patel, during an official Hawaii visit last summer, took a rare Navy-arranged "VIP snorkel" at Pearl Harbor. He swam near the wreckage of the USS Arizona, where more than 900 service members died in Japan's 1941 attack. Slotkin didn't mince words: "Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, we should be absolutely sickened by someone using taxpayer resources for their own benefit. So all of these people should be held accountable, and that includes people very close to the President and his cabinet, like Kash Patel."
In the interview, Slotkin described a pattern of corruption. "I think we're just at the beginning of understanding the corruption, the abuse of resources, the abuse of military and law enforcement, um, planes and, you know, vehicles. It's just, um, I feel like every single day there's a story about people in this administration milking the cow that is the federal government for their benefit."
This isn't the only ethics question hanging over Patel. In December 2025, House Democrats Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) demanded he reimburse taxpayers for what they called personal use of a government jet. Other reports have said Patel faced questions over FBI SWAT agents providing security for his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, and the use of armored BMW X5s. In April, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for Patel's immediate resignation, citing his "erratic" behavior.
Patel has denied any wrongdoing. His defenders argue that the travel and security measures were tied to official duties and credible threats. Patel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
