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Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley on Monday expressed support for Kash Patel to replace FBI director Christopher Wray at the helm of the bureau, after he met with Patel about transparency within the department.

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Patel to lead the bureau last month, even though Wray is currently serving a 10-year term that does not expire until 2027. Wray has not indicated whether he will resign for Trump’s second term.

Grassley said Patel understands the importance of cooperating with Congress in its investigations, protecting whistleblowers, and being transparent in the bureau’s activities, all of which he accused Wray of failing to do in a letter Monday.

“Transparency ought to be the North Star of government. Over the past several years, that principle has been thrown out the window of the J. Edgar Hoover Building’s seventh floor,” the senator said in a statement. “Today I reminded Kash that transparency brings accountability, and it’s badly needed at the FBI. 

“As a former congressional investigator himself, Kash understands that cooperation with Congress is not optional and whistleblower protection is essential,” he continued. “Once formally nominated, I’d look forward to holding a hearing on Kash’s nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

Grassley is slated to serve as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress, which will oversee Patel’s confirmation, along with the confirmation of Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for attorney general.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.