Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, vowed on Thursday to protect FBI employees against "political retribution" even as the Trump administration has begun to fire and sideline Justice Department officials who were involved in investigations into the president.

President Donald Trump’s pick to run the FBI, Kash Patel, downplayed his past promotion of right-wing conspiracy theories and his pledges to pursue retribution against Trump’s opponents on Thursday at his combative Senate confirmation hearing.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, endured hours of questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee, in what seemed mor