Washington: The FBI director confirmed he has never been drunk on duty. FBI Director Kash Patel denied allegations of serious alcohol abuse during a budget testimony hearing before the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Tuesday (May 12), insisting he was never intoxicated on duty to the point of being unreachable by officers.

According to Thai News Agency, Patel testified before the Senate Budget Subcommittee amidst a heated atmosphere and intense verbal clashes with Democratic senators. The main trigger was a report in The Atlantic magazine alleging that Patel's heavy drinking negatively impacted his performance as a leader of the FBI. The confrontation escalated when Senator Chris Van Hollen pressed Patel about news reports stating that officers had to break down his home because he was unconscious and unreachable due to heavy drinking. He cited the Atlantic article, which claimed Patel's excessive drinking and lack of contact affected decision-making in urgent and critical law enforcement missions, constituting a serious neglect of duty and undermining public trust.

While Patel reiterated that he was never drunk on duty, stating that the report was a joke and a fabricated media attempt to attack him, he confirmed that he had filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the magazine. He also retaliated by accusing Van Hollen of drinking margaritas using taxpayer money during a visit to detained immigrants in El Salvador, a claim Van Hollen immediately denied, explaining that Salvadoran officials placed the drinks on his table to undermine his credibility.

During a heated argument between the two sides, Senator Van Hollen challenged Patel to take a drinking behavior assessment, a criterion used by the U.S. military to screen for dangerous drinking habits. Patel accepted the challenge and stated he was ready to undergo any testing, leading Van Hollen to agree to take the test together.

The heated debate ended with Senator Van Hollen branding the FBI director as "a disgrace to the position," while Patel continued to insist his agency had done an excellent job of reducing violent crime rates nationwide.