FBI Director Kash Patel is concerned for his job, believing that he could be the next official fired from US President Donald Trump's administration, The Atlantic reported on Friday.

Patel's fears come after several prominent figures were fired from the Trump administration in recent months, including former US Army chief of staff Randy George, former attorney-general Pam Bondi, and former Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem. The Atlantic had previously reported that Patel was one of several high-profile cabinet members whom the administration was considering firing.

Patel, a former White House official told the Atlantic, is "rightly paranoid." According to several other officials, the Trump administration is already discussing possible replacements as head of the FBI.

Numerous officials, White House staff, and other people with first-hand experience with Patel told the Atlantic that Patel had severe issues with his conduct, his professionalism, and his personal behavior. Prominently among the complaints levied against the FBI Director was his propensity for alcoholism.

Several officials described Patel as frequently drinking to the point of "obvious intoxication," to the degree that, during his early days as FBI Director, meetings and briefings would have to be scheduled for later in the day.

The Atlantic also reported that members of Patel's security detail sometimes had difficulty waking Patel up, and that, at least once, "breaching equipment" was requested because he had been unconscious behind locked doors.

Many of the Atlantic's sources said they were afraid to publicly disclose their concerns about how Patel's frequent inebriation may be affecting his job performance, due to aggressive crackdowns on those he perceives as "insufficiently loyal." 

Some officials speculated that alcohol may have been involved in several instances when Patel impulsively divulged inaccurate or incomplete information during active investigations, such as when he announced on social media that the FBI had “detained a person of interest” after the Brown University shooting in December 2025, or after the murder of right wing podcaster Charlie Kirk. 

Another fear expressed by several officials was the possibility of a domestic terror attack occurring in the US while Patel is the FBI Director. "That's what keeps me up at night," one official said. Another official said that “The instinctive level of muscle memory or discernment that is necessary to identify and counter a terror attack is missing,” due to high turnover rates and lack of experience.

A lot of Patel's focus, officials said, was on the FBI's image rather than its functioning. “Part of me is glad he’s wasting his time on bulls***, because it’s less dangerous for the rule of law, for the American public,” one official told the Atlantic, “but it also means we don’t have a real functioning FBI director.”

When the Atlantic reached out to the White House for comment, Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokesperson, said that Patel "remains a critical player on the Administration’s law and order team.” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche dismissed the Atlantic's report as an "Anonymously sourced hit piece."

The FBI, in a statement attributed to Patel, told the Atlantic "Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court - bring your checkbook.”