A Senate hearing on the FBI budget took a sharp personal turn this week when Sen. Chris Van Hollen challenged FBI Director Kash Patel over alcohol use, only for the confrontation to spill onto social media with receipts in hand.
It commenced during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee meeting on Tuesday, May 12, when Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, pressed Patel about a recent Atlantic article describing the FBI director as drinking heavily and, at times, becoming hard to reach.
Staff had to force their way into his home on one occasion because he was allegedly too hungover to answer the door, the story claimed.
“When your private actions make it impossible for you to perform your public duties, we have a big problem,” Van Hollen said during the hearing.
Kash Patel Denies the Allegations
Patel flatly denied the allegations, calling them “unequivocally, categorically false.” He then turned the tables on the senator.
Patel brought up photos of Van Hollen drinking margaritas during a trip to El Salvador and pointed to a campaign expense showing thousands of dollars spent at a bar.
“Let’s go,” Patel said. “Side by side.”
He agreed to take the same Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, known as the AUDIT, but only if Van Hollen did it with him at the same time.
Van Hollen took the challenge and posted his results on X on Wednesday, May 13. He scored a 3, which falls in the low-risk category.
The senator said he has alcoholic drinks two to three times a week, but answered “never” to every other question on the 10-question screening.
Also Read: Kash Patel in Trouble Over Alcohol Abuse as Democrats Launch Investigation
Those questions cover everything from feeling guilty after drinking to failing to meet responsibilities because of alcohol.
“Yesterday, @FBIDirectorKash told me he’d take the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test if I did. Well, here’s mine,” Van Hollen wrote. He added that he expected Patel to “fudge the numbers” and invited the director to share his own results.
Patel responded by quickly posting a Federal Election Commission filing from Van Hollen’s Senate campaign showing a $7,128 expense at the Lobby Bar in Washington for what was described as catering for a holiday reception.
The move lit up social media, with critics of Van Hollen jumping on the timing, calling it hypocritical for the senator to lecture Patel about drinking while his own campaign had run up a big bar tab.
Supporters of the senator pushed back, saying the money came from campaign funds, not taxpayers, and was used for a staff event.
Also Read: Drama as FBI Chief Patel Erupts After Reporter Pushes Alcohol Claims
Van Hollen fired back on X: “You got me, I catered a holiday reception for my staff with campaign, not taxpayer dollars! Now let’s see your receipts. #ReleaseTheTab.”
The back-and-forth turned a serious oversight hearing into a very public tit-for-tat. Democrats had been pushing for Patel in order to take the AUDIT test ever since the Atlantic story dropped.
They argued that questions about the director’s personal habits raised legitimate concerns about his ability to lead the FBI.
Patel, who was confirmed as FBI director earlier this year, has pushed back hard against what he calls a smear campaign. During the hearing, he denied having any alcohol issues that affect his work.
The AUDIT test is a standard tool used worldwide to screen for alcohol problems. It asks about drinking frequency, binge behavior, blackouts, injuries linked to drinking, and concern from others.
AUDIT Test Scores
A score of 8 or higher usually flags risky or harmful drinking. Van Hollen’s score of 3 is well below that line.
The El Salvador angle added another layer as Van Hollen traveled there last year after a Maryland man said he was wrongly deported.
Photos from the trip showed the senator holding drinks. At the time, Van Hollen called the situation a stunt orchestrated by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
Now that moment has been weaponized against him.
As of Wednesday evening, neither Patel nor the FBI had posted his AUDIT results or commented further on the social media exchange.
The back-and-forth has drawn plenty of attention online, with users on both sides trading jabs and sharing the bar tab document.
