The FBI is in desperate need of fundamental reform. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to run the bureau, Kash Patel, promises to attempt that. But Patel has also said the Trump administration should go after political enemies, President Joe Biden’s allies. Senators should, therefore, give this nomination the closest possible scrutiny and establish that despite some fiery past rhetoric, Patel understands, appreciates, and respects the difference between reform and retribution before he is confirmed.

Patel is a lawyer by trade who spent eight years as a public defender in Miami before moving to the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. He first rose to fame in the conservative movement when he co-authored the Nunes memo, named after then-House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes, which correctly alleged that FBI personnel deviated from FBI rules to use faked and unverified information to obtain a warrant to spy on Trump’s presidential campaign.