'God help us': Ex-FBI agent alarmed by Trump loyalists up for key national security posts

A former FBI agent expressed alarm Wednesday night after a report that a pair of controversial Trump loyalists were in the running for top national security posts for President-elect Donald Trump.

Politico reported Wednesday night that Richard Grenell is seen by several Trump insiders as a "shoo-in" for a position, and whose name has been floated for secretary of state, but could end up "in a number of potential slots."

"Grenell was Trump’s acting director of national intelligence for several months in 2020 and has also been suggested for a role such as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, where he may be urged by Trump to unearth the so-called 'deep state,' according to Politico.

Kash Patel has also told associates he wants to head up the CIA, according to the report.

Reacting to the news, former FBI Special Agent Asha Rangappa told followers on X, "God help us."

Both have faced questions about their backgrounds.

Grenell was appointed as acting director of National Intelligence in 2020 and was met with intense criticism due to his lack of intelligence experience, and some feared he would politicize intelligence to suit Trump's whims.

“Everyone knows he has no qualifications for this job,” Mark Groombridge, a former aide to John Bolton who worked closely with Grenell at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, said at the time. “Ric has many talents and a considerable skill set." But the job's required impartiality “don’t comport with that skill set at all,” he said.

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Grenell also failed to disclose payments for advocacy work he did on behalf of a Moldovan politician, who was later accused of corruption. His own office’s policy says that could leave him vulnerable to blackmail.

Patel, meanwhile, quickly rose through the ranks of the Trump administration after joining in 2019 despite also having limited government experience. He drew scrutiny during the Ukraine scandal when reports surfaced he was suspected of acting as an independent back channel for Trump on Ukraine policy. He has also pushed various conspiracy theories, including about the 2020 election, and defended the Jan. 6 rioters.

Last year, Patel told Trump ally Steve Bannon that Trump was serious about seeking revenge against his perceived foes.

"We gotta put in all-American patriots top to bottom," he said at the time.

He added: “We will go out and find the conspirators not just in government but in the media. Yes, we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections, we're going to come after you. Whether it's criminally or civilly, we're going to figure that out."

Kash said this is why the left hates them.

"This is why we're tyrannical. This is why we're dictators."