Trump praises Patel, Bongino for leading FBI crime fight, backed by historic drop in homicide rates

President Donald Trump expressed a ringing endorsement of FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, celebrating their leadership in transforming the agency and its impact on reducing crime in the United States.

In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump stated, “The FBI, under the direction of Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, is back to the basics: Locking up criminals, and cleaning up America’s streets”.

According to the president, the two have freed the agents from the constraints imposed by “politics and Corrupt Leadership” allowing them to focus on their mission. "They have been unleashed to do their jobs, and they are doing just that. Keep it up — MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!”

This praise aligns with an article from The Federalist quoted by Trump in the same publication, which highlights a significant drop in homicide rates, projecting that the United States could post its lowest rate ever, surpassing the 2014 record (4.45 per 100,000 population).

Let good cops be cops

Patel attributes this achievement to a straightforward strategy: "Let good cops be cops". Under his direction, the FBI has reallocated resources, moving agents from Washington, D.C., to field offices across the country to fight crime where it occurs.

This restructuring, combined with the Trump Administration's deportation policies, has generated tangible results. Since Jan. 20, 2025, the FBI has spent more than 1 million hours collaborating with ICE, the DEA and local law enforcement to arrest more than 10,000 undocumented immigrants, many with criminal records, which, according to The Federalist, has helped criminals keep a low profile.

Trump also highlighted the elimination of Biden Administration practices, such as the diversion of FBI resources to monitor "non-criminal" activities of conservative groups, according to a document declassified by the director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.

Patel and Bongino have prioritized pursuing actual criminals, an approach Trump applauds as a return to law enforcement basics.

The vision of the FBI brass, backed by Trump, focuses on increasing the risk to criminals, allowing law enforcement to operate unhindered by politics.

This approach, according to the media outlet, explains the drop in homicide rates, which FBI data show declining since 2020.