Already, a series of missteps by Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, in recent months have invited worries that he has eroded public confidence in the agency.
Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, attended a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York before heading to Utah to oversee the investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
A lawsuit filed by three former F.B.I. officials charges the bureau director Kash Patel dismissed them as part of “a campaign of retribution” for their “failure to demonstrate sufficient personal and political loyalty.”