PoliticsThursday 01.30.25

Sen. Thom Tillis pulls out a “K$H Bingo” card at Kash Patel’s confirmation hearing to be FBI director.

Sen. Thom Tillis on Thursday pulled out a “K$H Bingo” card, mocking the anticipated line of questioning Democrats would have for Trump FBI director nominee Kash Patel at his confirmation hearing.

“I created a ‘K$H Bingo’ card that I have available to any of my colleagues who would like it on the other side of the aisle,” Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said toward the beginning of the hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I think we’ll have words like ‘enemies list’ and ‘deep state.’ I’ve already X’d out four boxes in the opening statements alone.”

The mock Bingo card contained rows of words that Tillis expected Democrats to say at the hearing, such as “QAnon” — a reference to Patel promoting QAnon views — “enemies list” and “government gangsters” — references to Patel’s 2023 book, which contains an appendix that names 50 current or former U.S. officials he claims are part of the deep state and are a “dangerous threat to democracy” — and “Plot Against the King” — the name of his children’s book that painted Trump as a monarch and railed against the Russia investigation and the news media.

“Some may view this as an unserious caricature and not appropriate for this committee,” Tillis said. “Sadly, I consider it a serious caricature of what I expect to be witnessed today.”

Several Democrats during the hearing did end up mentioning some of the words, such as “deep state” and “QAnon,” as they questioned Patel’s far-right views, his comfort with conspiracy theories, and his previous vows to seek revenge against Trump’s political opponents.

Recount Wire

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