FBI Director Kash Patel’s “irresponsible joyriding” on FBI jets might be headed for a tailspin.

On Tuesday, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called for a probe into Patel after a credible whistleblower said that Patel’s “excessive misuse” of the bureau’s aircraft has led to delays with the agency responding to high-profile emergencies, like the Brown University shooting and Charlie Kirk’s assassination last year.

Durbin made a point to note that the whistleblower provided the information after Patel used the FBI’s Gulfstream jet to fly to Milan, Italy to chug beer with the U.S. men’s hockey team and create pretty unsavory social media content at the Winter Olympics.

In regard to Kirk’s death during an event at Utah Valley University in September 2025, the whistleblower alleges that the FBI’s shooting reconstruction team was delayed by at least a day because there was a pilot and plane shortage “caused by the Director’s personal flights,” according to Durbin.

During the Brown University shooting in December, which killed two and injured nine, Patel was reportedly in South Florida visiting his elderly parents, an FBI official familiar with Patel’s travel told MS NOW. The outlet reports that the only other available jet had been placed on hold for another FBI team that typically wouldn’t respond to the scene of a mass shooting. Instead, a team had to drive overnight through a snowstorm from Virginia to the Rhode Island university, arriving at 9 a.m. the following morning to immediately process evidence, according to the whistleblower.

An FBI spokesperson disputed the whistleblower’s claims about the Brown University shooting to MS NOW, saying it was initially a “state-led homicide investigation. FBI was in an assisting role until later.” The rep added that evidence response agents in the FBI’s Boston field office were at the scene roughly two hours after the shooting.

Durbin sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office and the Justice Department’s Inspector General on Tuesday, calling for an investigation into Patel’s hindering of the agency’s ability to conduct critical investigative tasks.

“Since his confirmation as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel has seemingly engaged in what amounts to irresponsible joyriding on DOJ and FBI-operated aircraft at the expense of the American taxpayer and to the detriment of ongoing Bureau operations,” Durbin wrote.

This is not the first time Patel’s personal use of FBI aircraft has been called into question. Last year, he raised eyebrows for using the bureau’s jet to travel to Pennsylvania to see his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, perform at a wrestling event.

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.