Washington, Feb 22: Kash Patel said Friday that the American dream is alive as a "first generation Indian kid" is about to take charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

"I am living the American dream," Patel said after taking the oath of office in the presence of his sister Nisha Patel, girlfriend Alexis Wilkins, and relatives.

"Anyone that thinks the American Dream is dead, just look right here. You're talking to a first-generation Indian kid who's about to lead the law enforcement community, the greatest nation on God's green earth."

Kashyap Pramod Vinod Patel, 44, becomes the ninth Director of the FBI and the first of India and Asian descent.

Patel's parents are from Gujarat but came to the US from Canada after fleeing there from Uganda to escape ethnic repression.

He grew up in New York, went to study law, and became a public defender. His career has seen a meteoric rise, starting in President Trump's first term, when he became the Chief of Staff at the Pentagon and Deputy Director of National Intelligence.

Minutes before Patel received high praise from President Donald Trump, who said, Patel "is going to go down as maybe the best ever" FBI Director.

Patel has a polarising figure raising hackles on both sides of the aisle with sharp remarks and comments.

Two Republican Senators voted along with all Democrats to oppose his confirmation in the vote that he won narrowly -- 51-49 in the 100-member US Senate -- on Thursday.

President Trump acknowledged even he had thought his confirmation would be challenging because "he's a tough guy, a strong guy (and) he has his opinions".

Speaking of his mission, Patel said, "100,000 people last year raped; 100,000 people died of CCP fentanyl (CCP is the Communist Party of China from where the drug starts the journey to the US) overdose and heroin; 17,000 homicides. Violent crime is out of control. We cannot have a United States of America where that is acceptable."

"Our national security mission is equally as important, he added: "Anyone that wishes to do harm to our way of life and our citizens here or abroad will face the full wrath of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And if you seek to hide in any corner of this country or any corner of this planet, we will put on the world's largest manhunt, and we will find you, and we will decide your end state, not you."

(IANS)

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