In the first full month after Kash Patel was confirmed as FBI director on February 20, the FBI received a record number of new agent applications. 5,577 new applications were filed in March, after 2023 saw a monthly average of 2,797 applications, and 2024’s monthly average was 3,383. The most recent month that saw a number approximating March was April 2016, when  5,283 applications were filed, Fox News reported. “Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino have put a major emphasis on restoring confidence in federal law enforcement and boosting new agent recruiting,” FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Fox News Digital. “These record early returns certainly suggest the new FBI is heading in the right direction.” “The record number of FBI job applications in March shows that people are inspired by Kash Patel’s commitment to restoring integrity and effectiveness at the bureau,” Patel advisor Erica Knight added. “Americans are putting their trust in his leadership to rebuild the FBI and keep our communities safe. … this is just the beginning. Kash is dedicated to creating a stronger, more trusted FBI that serves the American people the way it was always meant to,” Knight said. In May 2024, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to the FBI regarding its emphasis on DEI in hiring and the recruiting fallout from it. He stated: On Inauguration Day, President Biden issued his first Executive Order promulgating DEI programs within the whole of Executive Branch. A few months later, on April 21, 2021, you announced the hiring of the FBI’s first Chief Diversity Officer, Scott McMillon. From that time forward, we understand that the FBI has struggled with attracting enough qualified applicants from all desired target groups to sustain its mission. This is likely due to the FBI re-focusing its recruitment efforts on DEI statistics.  In October 2023, a group of retired FBI Special Agents and Analysts, many of whom held senior positions of trust and authority within the FBI, authored a report detailing ‘alarming trends’ in the FBI’s recruitment and selection process. The detailed, 112-page report highlighted several troubling findings, including that: “The law enforcement and intelligence capabilities of the FBI are degrading because the FBI is no longer hiring ‘the best and brightest’ candidates to fill the position of Special Agent of the FBI. … An increasing number of lower quality candidates — described by one source as ‘bread crumbs’ because they were rejected by other federal law enforcement agencies — are applying to become FBI Special Agents; and the FBI is selecting those candidates to become FBI Special Agents because they satisfy the FBI’s priority to meet Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) mandates …  The FBI’s Special Agent hiring numbers are down, likely due to the decline in the Nation’s trust in the FBI and a corresponding decrease in the number of individuals interested in applying to the FBI for employment.”