Matt Gaetz is a preening, self-important clown who would have spent more time spewing lies on Fox News than on “reforming” the DOJ. Pam Bondi is a fierce Trump loyalist who, as far as I know, has retained her sense of professional ethics. Kash Patel is something else entirely. He is a completely dedicated, totally ruthless, and possibly competent Trump acolyte. If confirmed, he won’t simply purge the FBI of the people responsible for the Russia investigation; he will turn federal law enforcement into a purely partisan process. He will give Trump’s friends effective legal immunity and manufacture cases against his opponents based on shaky legal theories and implausible evidence. He is the tip of the authoritarian spear.
Given his combative personality, I can’t imagine him denying much of this during his confirmation hearings. Will the Senate acquiesce? If it does, expect the jails to be full of prominent Trump opponents very quickly.