Kash Patel, the current chief of staff to the acting secretary of defense Christopher Miller, was just put in charge of the Pentagon transition effort with the incoming Biden-Harris administration. He used to work for Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes during the Russian collusion investigation. As such, some media covered the news by painting Patel as a Trump loyalist slash Biden conspiracy theorist.
"Trump loyalist connected to Biden conspiracy theories is leading Pentagon transition," the CNN headline ran.
Trump aides ripped CNN for targeting Patel. Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell suggested the media is once again trying to undermine the historic diversity of the Trump administration, considering that Patel is the first Indian-American to have that top role at the Pentagon. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) accused the network of "dumbing down" the news for their audience.
CNN’s @barbarastarrcnn and @ZcohenCNN gratuitously attack the first person of color to be Chief of Staff at the Pentagon. It’s a mission for them.
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) November 25, 2020
Why are they so threatened by Kash Patel? He’s a patriot that doesn’t look like them - their continuous attacks are not journalism.
This is @CNN deliberately dumbing down their audience. Kash uncovered many inconvenient FACTS undermining left-wing hyper partisan political narratives so his character gets brutally attacked from every angle. This is a disgrace. Kash Patel is a Patriot.https://t.co/gCzrheEIqu
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) November 25, 2020
Patel's appointment comes two weeks after President Trump fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and announced Chris Miller as the Acting Secretary of Defense.
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