Kash Patel just removed senior FBI agents from key offices, and the investigations they were handling make it clear why

FBI Director Kash Patel has removed a large number of senior agents from multiple field offices. All of these agents were involved in past criminal investigations related to President Donald Trump. This is not just a few routine departures. It’s a major removal of high-ranking officials, and the scale of the turnover is shocking for an agency that values independence.

According to MS Now, the agents being removed all have one thing in common: they worked on two major investigations of President Trump that were dropped after his reelection in 2024. This includes agents who worked on Arctic Frost, which looked into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. It also includes those connected to the search of Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida resort, where the FBI found classified documents.

Very high-level positions are being affected. The special agent in charge in Atlanta has been removed. The acting assistant director in charge of the New York field office is also out. Even a former special agent in charge in New Orleans, who had recently moved to a different position, was pushed out.

The Mar-a-Lago document case saw the most concentrated removals

The classified documents case saw the biggest concentration of removals. Sources say as many as six agents in the Miami field office were specifically pushed out because of their involvement in the Mar-a-Lago document case. The FBI has a long tradition of stability and non-political service. Losing this many senior-level people at once is unheard of.

The timing of these removals is also important. The news came out just hours after former special counsel Jack Smith testified at a public hearing on Capitol Hill. Smith was defending his approach to the two investigations he led against Trump when he was a former president. Republican lawmakers accused Smith of political bias during the hearing. Trump even called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Smith while the testimony was still happening.

This wave of firings also follows public comments Patel and his aides made days earlier. They told a conservative outlet they wanted to remove anyone from the FBI who authorized payments to confidential sources used to identify people involved in the January 6 riots. Meanwhile, FBI employees have raised concerns about Patel’s priorities at the bureau. All this context shows the political motivation behind this shift in leadership.

The FBI Agents Association has spoken out, saying it’s wrong to fire agents without clear evidence of misconduct or proper cause. Director Patel has shown he’s willing to ignore these warnings. He previously fired a dozen agents who took a knee during a racial justice protest in Washington after George Floyd’s killing. Despite these internal changes, the bureau recently prevented a major attack on New Year’s Eve in North Carolina.

Before Patel became director, Trump’s Justice Department already removed most of the senior FBI leadership in Washington. Now, with Patel in charge, the removals continue. Some agents who were previously fired, including Brian Driscoll, who was acting director before Patel was confirmed by the Senate, are suing Patel over their terminations.