FBI jet, $50,000 suite: Kash Patel faces scrutiny over luxury ‘date’ with girlfriend Alexis Wilkins

Kash Patel is facing renewed scrutiny after reports alleged he turned an official work trip into a luxury outing involving his girlfriend, raising fresh questions about his use of FBI resources.

According to a report by The New York Times, the 46-year-old FBI director flew with his 27-year-old girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, aboard the FBI’s Gulfstream V jet from Washington to Philadelphia on May 10, 2025, to attend a country music concert before returning later that night.

The report alleged the couple watched performances by George Strait and Chris Stapleton from a private suite estimated to cost between $35,000 and $50,000. FBI flight crew and security personnel reportedly remained on duty until after 11 pm, accruing overtime while waiting for Patel and Wilkins to leave the venue.

The FBI declined to comment directly on the allegations through a spokesperson, though the bureau said Wilkins had been “an invited guest” of the performers.

Earlier trips also under scrutiny

The latest controversy follows criticism over Patel’s recent travel, including a so-called “VIP snorkel” excursion near the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, a site commemorating US service members killed in the 1941 attack.

Responding to media reports, FBI spokesman Ben Williamson defended the trip in a post on X, insisting it was an official engagement.

“The AP is attempting to spin an invitation from the Commanding General of Indo Pacom to a military base as a party or vacation, which is so stupid,” Williamson wrote, referring to the United States Indo-Pacific Command.

He added that similar inter-agency visits had routinely taken place during Patel’s previous tenure at the Pentagon.

Patel also faced scrutiny over a trip to Milan during the Winter Olympics, where video showed him celebrating with members of the US men’s hockey team and drinking beer. Patel said the visit was connected to a cybercrime investigation coordinated with Italian authorities.

The FBI has maintained that Patel’s Hawaii visit was official and focused on meetings with local and federal law enforcement officials regarding “crime trends and threats to the homeland.”

Critics, however, have questioned the optics of the trips.

Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection — a support network for Justice Department employees dismissed under the second Trump administration — said the Hawaii visit reflected a pattern of “unseemly distractions.”

Patel has repeatedly defended his travel record, saying he personally pays for private travel and that every trip serves an official purpose.

“I’ve taken half as many days off as those before me,” Patel said during a Justice Department press conference last month. “I’m the first one in; I’m the last one out.”