U.S. Senator Katie Britt Questions FBI Director Kash Patel, ATF Director Robert Cekada on FY27 Budget Requests in Senate Appropriations Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) joined a hearing of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies to review the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Budget Requests for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The hearing featured testimony from FBI Director Kash Patel, DEA Administrator Terrance Cole, USMS Director Gadyaces Serralta and ATF Director Robert Cekada.

Senator Britt thanked FBI Director Patel for the work the Bureau has done to keep Alabama communities safe: "I want to just highlight some of the great work that the FBI has done in Alabama. So, over the last year, we have seen the Bureau oversee the arrest of 1,187 criminals. We have seen you seize 31kg of cocaine and over three [kilograms] of fentanyl. If you look over just the last four months alone, you have arrested [154] criminals, 15 of which have crimes related to human trafficking or crimes against children. And that includes a two-week operation, Operation Southern Star in Montgomery, Alabama, which was an interagency operation where I believe you had 63 arrests, 52 guns recovered and 40 drug seizures. As a resident of Montgomery and as someone who is raising her children there, I want to say thank you on behalf of me, on behalf of all the moms and dads that are that are raising their family there and behalf of our community, we say, thank you."

Senator Britt continued, "I know that this is not just Alabama where you're doing this, you're doing this across the country. It is why the FBI has overseen the largest dip in recorded murders in history … I think it is also why you have asked for a significant increase when it comes to actually returning to your mission of putting criminals behind bars … Can you talk about how that increase would help you continue the good work that you're doing in Alabama, going after criminals, violent criminals, cartels and others, and of course, across the country as well?"

FBI Director Patel highlighted how investing in Redstone Arsenal's world-class advanced training capabilities will continue to strengthen our law enforcement personnel: "[W]hat we also need to do is work with our state and local folks in the field and provide them with the advanced training capabilities they need. Specifically, for instance, the drone program capability, we launched the first ever of its kind … a counter-UAS program down at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. We've graduated 65 state cops from that program. The waitlist is long. Every single agency across the country wants their police officers there … So, the enhancements we've requested specifically relate(d) to … Redstone Arsenal are advancing training capabilities, including our cyber center, our TEDAC school, and we're the only ones in the world that have a ballistic research facility that's housed at Redstone Arsenal. That's how we train the next generation of law enforcement officials."

In her second line of questioning, Senator Britt addressed ATF Director Cekada regarding illicit Chinese vapes, saying, "I know that we discussed at your confirmation hearing the great work the ATF is doing to combat the flow of illicit Chinese vapes into our nation. … These unsafe products target kids in many instances, and I think we have got to put a stop to this."

Director Cekada responded, noting the need for an increased budget to curtail the flow of illicit vapes, stating, "as you mentioned, Director Serralta … Administrator Cole … and our partners at the FDA are working hand in hand to identify these wholesalers and retailers that are dealing in these illicit vapes. … I can speak for ATF, we are very short staffed as far as our agents go, and our agents are primarily focused on the violent crime efforts that we're making around the country. … So, we would love to have more agents to focus on this effort in particular, but it's very challenging for us to do so with the budget that we have."

You can view the Senator's full remarks here.

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