Trump to tap loyalist Kash Patel as choice to lead FBI

US President-elect Donald Trump aims to make loyalist Kash Patel the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in a move that would mean replacing the agency's current leader.

The president-elect announced the former adviser and Pentagon official, who is known for his views criticising the “deep state,” as his choice for the post on his Truth Social network on Saturday.

Hardliner Republicans have for years insisted that a supposed “deep state” of allegedly biased government bureaucrats has worked to stifle Mr Trump from behind the scenes.

The FBI's current director, Christopher Wray, was appointed to a 10-year term in 2017, meaning he would either need to step down or be fired.

The FBI under Mr Wray, who Mr Trump appointed, has investigated the incoming president.

“Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator and 'America First' fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending justice, and protecting the American people,” Mr Trump wrote in the post.

Mr Patel, the son of Indian immigrants and author of a book about the “deep state,” served in several high-level posts during Mr Trump's first term, including as a national security adviser and as chief of staff to the acting defence secretary.

“Kash did an incredible job during my first term,” Mr Trump said, adding that he would work to “end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the border”.

Separately, Mr Trump nominated Chad Chronister, a Florida sheriff, as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency.

“Chad will work with our great attorney general, Pam Bondi, to secure the border, stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other illegal drugs, across the southern border, and save lives,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Ms Bondi, a Trump ally and former Florida attorney general, is the president-elect's choice to lead the Department of Justice.