As China’s spies grow more aggressive, the FBI is distracted and off-balance.
As foreign espionage threats intensified, FBI Director Kash Patel redirected the bureau away from its core counterintelligence mission. He backed a proposed budget cut of more than $500 million, reassigned nearly a quarter of FBI agents to immigration enforcement, and hollowed out headquarters expertise by dispersing veteran spy hunters across the country.
Specialists trained to track adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran were rotated onto routine immigration cases, while enforcement of laws such as the Foreign Agents Registration Act was curtailed. Former senior officials warn these moves created blind spots at a moment of historic danger, leaving the United States more vulnerable not just to attack, but to sustained foreign penetration. As one ex–counterintelligence chief put it: “It’s a disaster.”