Senate panel advances Kash Patel nomination by vote of 12-10

So far, Donald Trump has been successful at getting the people he wants in the right places to make sure America prospers during his second term in the White House.

His nomination of Kash Patel for FBI director has been no exception.

America's Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines on Feb. 13 to proceed with the confirmation of Patel, as USA Today reports.

Now, the nomination will go to a full Senate vote. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber.

While RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard were successfully confirmed in the end, Trump couldn't get all 53 Republicans to vote "yes" on his picks.

Perhaps 52 "yes" votes could be the best Trump can hope for regarding Patel as well because Sen. Mitch McConnell seems to be set on proving a point by voting "no" on the president's picks.

When McConnell voted against confirming RFK Jr., Trump said that it was a vote against him, not against Kennedy, so might the Kentucky Republican be planning the same thing for Patel's vote?

"He’s not voting against Bobby, he’s voting against me. But that’s all right. He endorsed me. You know that Mitch endorsed me, right?" Trump told reporters after RFK Jr.'s confirmation.

Even if McConnell does defect yet again, that's still a 52-48 advantage in favor of nominating Patel, but that's only if no other Republicans vote against Patel.

There's technically a possibility that one or more Democrats could say yes on Patel, although that seems unlikely.

Democrats have been sounding the alarm over a list that Patel published in his 2023 book of 60 "deep state" officials who liberals are worried would face retaliation if he became FBI director.

Sen. Dirck Durbin of Illinois has even said that Patel "may have committed perjury" by testifying at his hearing that he knew nothing about a purge of top agency officials.

"I hope that what I reveal today from credible whistleblowers at the highest levels will give my Republican colleagues some pause before it’s too late," Durbin said.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa didn't agree with Durbin's claims.

"The purpose of this campaign is quite obvious: throw everything at the wall and hope something sticks," Grassley said. "I'm not falling for it."

Trump is hoping that no other Republicans fall for it either.