FBI Director Kash Patel uses the FBI jet less frequently than his predecessors Chris Wray and James Comey.
Posted by VINCE, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict4 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 55%
VINCESep 16, 2026
The claim holds on the measure the FBI itself reports: its figures to the GAO and in later statements show Patel took fewer personal and leisure flights than Wray and Comey. It does not hold for total jet use: Just the News flight logs (Nov 2025) put Patel at 2.48 flights per week, above Wray's 1.98 and below Comey's 2.58.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Now, just to give you a little bit of context for this, Maizie Hirano has been demanding answers from Cash Patel about his use of the FBI jet, and by statute, the FBI director has to use the FBI jet to travel. That's the way it works. And Cash released a bunch of data publicly this past week showing that he uses it with way less frequency than his predecessors, Chris Ray and James Comey. He also doesn't fly out of the most expensive airports. He doesn't fly out of Reagan National, which is the airport closest to Washington, D.C. …
VINCE · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Just the News flight logs, reviewed in November 2025, show Patel's total flight frequency (2.48 per week) was slightly above Wray's (1.98) and slightly below Comey's (2.58), so the claim does not hold against Wray on total flights.[2][3]
Supports. Reuters reports that, per FBI responses to the GAO, Patel has taken fewer personal flights than his two predecessors, with 11 trips to his residence in 2025, nearly half Wray's per-year rate.[1]
Supports. The Washington Examiner (Sept 2026) reports Patel said his leisure travel was significantly less than Wray's or Comey's, and the FBI's Williamson statements describe his personal travel as significantly limited relative to both predecessors.[4][5][6]
Context. The source data is from different periods and counts (total flights vs personal trips, 2025 GAO responses vs earlier flight logs), and the sources do not reconcile them into a single figure.[1][2][3][4]
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 5 not rated
- 1EXCLUSIVE: Kash Patel on the FBI's defining test: securing the World Cupreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Patel’s Jet Use on Par With Predecessors But His Changes Are Saving Tax Dollarshotair.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, context
- 3Patel under fire for early terror post and shutdown jet tripssan.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, context
- 4Kash Patel defends FBI travel as Senate hearing turns heatedwashingtonexaminer.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 5Kash Patel lashes out at reports he used a government jet ...uk.news.yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6'No Rules Broken': FBI Backs Kash Patel's Use Of Jet For ... - NDTVndtv.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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