Kash Patel's Podcast Interview With His Age Gap Girlfriend Landed Him In Serious Hot Water

Director of the FBI Kash Patel has once again drawn serious public scrutiny. On December 16th 2025, the "Katie Miller Pod" podcast released an episode featuring Patel alongside his girlfriend — who he has a significant age gap with — a decision he really should've thought twice about, as it immediately sparked backlash. 

The episode was practically dedicated to the couple addressing public criticism head-on. Throughout the episode, Patel and his girlfriend repeatedly pushed back against allegations surrounding their relationship, especially having to do with using taxpayer dollars to fund their date nights. The FBI director also felt the need to characterize reports about his personal use of government aircrafts as misleading, repeatedly emphasizing that he had reduced travel costs in comparison to the last two directors. But, honestly? People couldn't care less about the substance of what he and his girlfriend had to say. Instead, they were left feeling more frustrated on why a sitting FBI director spent time on a podcast addressing personal criticism with his 'country music sensation' girlfriend seated next to him. 

The most liked comment with more than 600 likes on the YouTube video was: "Why is the FBI director on a podcast with his girlfriend?" Another comment with hundreds of likes noted, "I believe Patel cares more about his girlfriends image than the Bureau's." Public figures are subject to routine speculation and criticism, but the episode raised questions about why a senior government official was so intent on responding to the commentary. For many viewers, it was a level of defensiveness that only seemed to raise further suspicion. 

The backlash surrounding Kash Patel's podcast appearance only intensified after viewers noted the timing of its release, December 16th 2025 — just three days after the tragic shooting at Brown University that left two students dead. At the time of the episode release, there was an active manhunt underway for the suspected shooter. 

Given that context, the timing was clearly significant enough for the "Katie Miller Pod" team to address it directly, adding a disclaimer at the beginning of the video and in the episode's caption in all caps: "THIS INTERVIEW WAS TAPED BEFORE THE HORRIFIC SHOOTING AT BROWN UNIVERSITY." Did this help? Not really. The real question wasn't when the podcast was recorded, but why all parties involved felt it was appropriate to release a podcast episode with the sitting FBI Director while an active manhunt for yet another school shooting was active.

Major media outlets also called out the FBI director and the podcast. The Independent referred to the episode as a "cringey love story podcast." The outlet also noted that its release couldn't have come at a worse time, as the nation was focused on public safety and ongoing law enforcement efforts. For critics, Patel's podcast appearance was simply another example of him further souring his reputation for the sake of his relationship and continuing to blur the lines of his personal life and his professional role as the FBI director.