Looks Like No Democratic Senators are Getting a KA$H Bourbon Anytime Soon!

I very much doubt they were, but no Democratic lawmaker should be holding their breath for a KA$H-branded bottle of bourbon to appear on their doorstep in the near future. On Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel spent an entire day before the Senate Appropriations Committee in a budget hearing—and for all nine hours, continued to try and keep his cool whenever members of the upper chamber brought up accusations of his drinking on the job. And, well, you can pretty much guess how he reacted. 

this is absolutely BONKERS behavior from the director of the FBI. it’s a disgrace to his position and the entire US government.

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 12, 2026 at 8:00 PM

 

In one of the biggest flashpoints of the hearing, Sen. Van Hollen (D-Maryland) referred to a pair of stories published by the Atlantic earlier this year, which detailed multiple accounts of Patel allegedly showing up to work drunk or hungover—sometimes so much so that his staffers were concerned for his safety. (Patel has vehemently denied all allegations.) “You cannot perform those public duties if you’re incapacitated,” Van Hollen said. 

“Unlike the baseless reports, the only person that was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gangbanging rapist was you,” Patel shot back. “The only individual in this room that’s been drinking on taxpayer dime during the day is you.” 

Patel never names Kilmar Abrego Garcia—who was wrongly deported last year over what the administration now calls an “administrative error”—but he doesn’t has to. The “margaritas” comment likely refers to a meeting between the senator and Garcia, which took place in El Salvador after Garcia’s deportation, and in pictures of the meeting, the two are seen having two salt-rimmed drinks in front of them. (Van Hollen has maintained the cups were never touched and put there as a political stunt organized by El Salvador’s president.) Currently, the administration is still trying to pursue a lawsuit against Garcia, claiming human smuggling charges. 

Most alarmingly, contrary to Patel’s accusation-shaped meltdown, Garcia’s never been charged or convicted of being a gang member—nor of rape. And again, if he were referring to Garcia, he’d be violating a demand made by a federal judge in October, who warned the Trump administration to stop talking about the Garcia case unless it wanted to face sanctions.  

“I’ll take any test you’re willing to,” Patel added, suggesting Van Hollen should also be tested for his drinking. “Let’s go, side-by-side.” Welp. Maybe Van Hollen will be getting his hands on some KA$H bourbon after all.

At another point in the hearing, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) asked Patel about his trip to Milan, Italy for the Winter Olympics in February—and specifically, how much the trip cost, and how it helped the FBI mission. (As he’s done many-a-times, Patel used an FBI jet for this trip.) 

Using a new excuse, Patel replied, “We purposely planned that trip around the Olympics, because, as I mentioned in my opening, the top cybercriminal from the [Chinese Communist Party] was housed in Italian custody.” Slightly different from what he said at the time—which is that “the FBI has a major role in Olympic security”—but OK!

In her turn, Sen, Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said, “We need serious leadership at the FBI that the American people can trust, and I am deeply concerned about the reports that your leadership has not been serious.” Ouch. Recalling back to Van Hollen’s comments, she said, “I have got to say, if you want to pass out liquor, or pop bottles in a locker room: Stick to podcasting. Leave law and order to people who really do care about justice.”

Patel, holding up a piece of paper with his alleged accomplishments, replied: “This is what real leadership looks like at the FBI. If people want to continue the baseless, fraudulent, false attacks at me, that’s great, keep the target on me, as I always say. But the agency has never been better.”