Kash Patel Posts Salty Response to MS Now Report on His ‘Lavish Lifestyle’: ‘My Jet Ski Is Gold Plated’

Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

FBI Director Kash Patel gave a fiery snapback to an MS NOW piece questioning how long he would be supported by President Donald Trump in the face of increasing questions about his taxpayer-backed travel.

Patel offered the salty post on X Friday morning, over a screenshot of a column from MS NOW’s Hayes Brown with the headline: “Kash Patel Can’t Count on Donald Trump’s Protection Forever.”

Nah, my jet ski is gold plated….dumb*ss.

Your job is to lie. Mine is to protect the American people, and business is good! pic.twitter.com/iAX2dX3ocT

— Kash Patel (@Kash_Patel) July 10, 2026

Patel thumbed his nose at the press a day after it was reported that Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) joined Democrats in seeking more information on Patel’s flights and his department’s purchase of BMWs.

In the piece, Brown noted Grassley has frequently “had Patel’s back in public,” adding, “Common sense should tell Patel this would be a perfect opportunity to lay low — but the odds that he’ll heed this flashing warning light are slim.”

“Grassley’s interest in the director living it up doesn’t spell Patel’s immediate downfall,” the writer added. “It does, however, open the door to the kind of scrutiny he’s managed to avoid from Republicans despite multiple screwups.”

The FBI director has been under scrutiny for months about his travel, particularly in February when he posted an image of himself on social media in the locker room with Team USA in Milan, Italy, after their Olympic gold medal win.

He was caught on video knocking back a beer as the team celebrated their 2-1 overtime victory over Team Canada.

Patel also traveled to Hawaii last summer, during which he took a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona — the Pearl Harbor memorial which serves as a graveyard to more than 900 sailors and Marines slain in the Dec. 7, 1941 attack.

The “exclusive excursion” was highly unusual, as snorkeling is typically not permitted near the solemn site.

Officials have said Patel has reimbursed the agency for his personal travel.

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