Leavitt Torches MSNBC Claim Trump Will Fire FBI's Patel

Karoline Leavitt delivered a forceful denial on Tuesday after MSNBC’s MS Now claimed that President Donald Trump was planning to fire FBI Director Kash Patel

In a post on X, the White House press secretary Leavitt stated, “This story is completely made up.” She accused the left-leaning network of creating another anti-Trump narrative in her public message.

She mentioned that when this "fake news" was published, she was in the Oval Office with Trump and his law enforcement team, including Patel, according to her account.

Leavitt said she read the MSNBC headline aloud to the president, who “laughed” and is said to have responded: “What? That’s totally false.”

She added that Trump immediately turned to Patel and said, “Come on Kash, let’s take a picture to show them you’re doing a great job!” according to her post.

Leavitt ended her message by warning supporters, “Do not believe the Fake News!”

The disputed MSNBC segment claimed that Trump was unhappy with Patel’s performance and was considering replacements, according to what the network aired.

Patel, appointed by Trump in February, has been leading an aggressive overhaul of the FBI’s senior ranks to fix what Trump allies say were years of political bias in the Bureau, according to officials who support the reforms.

Critics within the intelligence community have argued that Patel’s changes are too rapid and that they disrupt long-standing internal practices.

Former Justice Department officials have alleged that Patel’s management style has conflicted with career agents who resist the administration’s attempts to shift the FBI’s culture.

Democrat lawmakers have accused Patel of politicizing the Bureau, claims that Trump allies describe as a typical reaction to overdue accountability measures, according to those public statements.