Kash Patel is not the only one enjoying the perks of the top law enforcement position.
The embattled 46-year-old FBI director over-allocated the agency’s resources to his aspiring country music star girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins.
Wilkins, 27, was assigned a full-time SWAT team consisting of four agents and two vehicles, The New York Times reported. The bureau chief’s partners typically do not receive their own personal security details, especially if they live in different cities.
Wilkins was protected by SWAT agents, who the FBI said were responsible for “extremely high-risk situations” such as “special assignments, dangerous apprehensions, [or] A dignitary in need of protection. “
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during the swearing-in ceremony of his girlfriend Alexis Wilkins (center) on February 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. /Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
FBI resources were used to track Wilkins’ travels, haircut appointments and performances. FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told The New York Times that the singer had received death threats over her relationship with Patel and needed protection.
The Daily Beast reached out to the FBI and Wilkins for comment. Cash’s use of federal agents for personal reasons drew harsh criticism from former FBI agents.
“If you want to be a celebrity or a social media star, you have to keep yourself safe,” Christopher O’Leary, the former senior director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, told The New York Times. “The inappropriateness of this approach cannot be overstated.”
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 22: FBI Director Kash Patel watches before the men’s gold medal game between Canada and the United States on Day 16 of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics at the Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy on February 22, 2026. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)/Elsa/Getty Images
Extensive details of Wilkin’s welfare emerged after Patel’s controversial trip to Italy for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The FBI director has been criticized for using the agency’s plane to fly to the Olympics and watch the men’s ice hockey gold medal game. While the bureau maintains that Patel was in Italy on business, he was photographed in the U.S. locker room after the U.S. win.
Keystone Cash was not only caught celebrating athletes, but also drinking heavily, which reportedly angered Trump.
“To the media who care so much – yes, I love America and I was so humbled when my friend, the newly minted gold medalist on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the kids,” Patel wrote on X in response to the criticism.
FRANKLIN, TN – AUGUST 25: Alexis Wilkins attends the Nashville premiere of Reagan at AMC DINE-IN Thoroughbred 20 on August 25, 2024 in Franklin, Tennessee. (Photo by Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images for REAGAN Movie)/Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images for REAGAN Movie
This trip to the Olympics isn’t the first time Patel has gotten into trouble for using a private jet. He had previously been heavily criticized for using an FBI plane to take him to hockey games and visit Wilkins in Nashville.
Before taking over, Patel blasted his predecessor, Christopher A. Wray, for using the bureau’s private jet.
Nancy’s neighbors leave flowers outside her home in Catalina Foothills, Arizona/Joe Raedle/Getty Images
“I’m just saying Chris Ray doesn’t need a government-funded G5 jet to go on vacation,” Patel said in 2023. “Maybe we’ll ground the plane. $15,000 per flight. Just a thought.”
Meanwhile, neither the FBI nor local law enforcement are making much progress in finding 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie. today Host Savannah Guthrie recently announced that the family will be adding a bonus for the mother’s return.
