"You are a disgrace," said Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to FBI Director Kash Patel during one of their several heated exchanges during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the agency's fiscal year 2027 budget request. Sen. Van Hollen, ranking member of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee, questioned Mr. Patel's leadership qualifications, as well as reports of alleged intoxication on the job, misuse of FBI resources, and the firing of career FBI officers for political reasons, which the director denied. Other witnesses included leaders from Drug Enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Topics included workforce needs, judicial security, immigration enforcement operations, and the prevention of drug proliferation.