FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday defended his agency’s decision to lower its hiring standards after facing a barrage of questions from incredulous lawmakers demanding to know why engaging in acts of bestiality is no longer an automatic disqualification for employment. In a series of extraordinary exchanges with Democratic and Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patel insisted that several changes were made to ensure that victims of sexual assault or animal trafficking were not excluded from working at the FBI. “We didn’t want to punish victims of bestiality, victims of trafficking,” Patel told Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin during an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We didn’t want the FBI to consider it an automatic disqualification if you are a victim of these horrible and heinous acts. They still have to go through the same rigorous standards and application process,” Patel added. Tuesday’s hearing marked the first time Patel publicly addressed new hiring standards related to prostitution, job theft and bestiality, after CBS News first reported on them in August. office. Now, a person can still be considered eligible in certain circumstances. In the case of prostitution, job candidates can still be hired as long as they have not hired sex workers or engaged in acts of prostitution three or more times and the conduct occurred more than 10 years ago. For job theft, a person may be considered if the theft took place more than three years ago, and for bestiality, a job candidate may still be eligible as long as the acts occurred before age 18, multiple sources familiar with the changes previously told CBS News. The Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Patel demanding “full accountability” for why such changes were made and asked the office to provide “the number of applicants hired, conditional offers extended, or subject to case-by-case review since June 16, 2026, whose records would previously have been automatically disqualified, broken down by conduct category.” On Tuesday, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle repeatedly questioned Patel about the decision, with most of them primarily focusing their questions on changes related to acts of bestiality. “Tell me what it said before,” asked Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, referring to automatic disqualification for acts of bestiality. “It automatically disqualified any individual who participated on either side. Obviously, we’re never going to hire the criminal side,” Patel said. “Any side of what, bestiality?” Kennedy asked. “Yes,” Patel replied. “So you disqualified the animal?” Kennedy responded. “Well, we have big canines,” Patel said. “I’m trying to understand why you did this,” Kennedy continued. “Why would they even enter into bestiality?” Patel told lawmakers that some FBI applicants were trafficked and forced to participate in “degrading acts,” such as those involving animals, and that the changes were intended to help people in that category. “Some of these individuals would go on to become law enforcement officers, who qualified to be law enforcement officers and then applied to the FBI,” Patel said. Patel also told Kennedy that the changes related to prostitution were intended to ensure that victims who were forced to perform the act were not excluded from employment. “It’s not if you frequented a prostitute. It’s if you were a prostitute?” Kennedy asked. “If you were, yes, the victim forced to do it,” Patel responded. However, the internal changes to the automatic disqualification relate to both the solicitation and practice of prostitution, sources previously told CBS News, and an FBI spokesperson also previously acknowledged that the changes could also apply to an applicant who admits to hiring a sex worker in a location where it is legal. Current and former FBI agents and legal experts familiar with the bureau’s hiring practices previously told CBS News they were deeply concerned about the changes, saying they are indicative of challenges the FBI may be having when recruiting new talent. Several also said they were baffled by how the office was justifying the changes, noting that all applicants have the opportunity to disclose personal issues that could affect their polygraph results before taking the test, such as a history of sexual abuse. Patel did not explain during the hearing why the office has lowered standards for candidates who may have stolen from their employers in the past. More from CBS News Go deeper with The Free Press
