Inside the imposing concrete walls of the J. Edgar Hoover Building in downtown Washington, some of the FBI’s most seasoned agents are gripped by fear.
Rather than focusing on high-profile investigations involving cybersecurity or counterintelligence, some agents are spending their days clicking through mandatory internal training courses—the sort of routine online work many 9-to-5 employees try to avoid.
In the animal world, the behavior is known as “playing possum.” Current and former FBI agents say it has become a survival strategy inside the bureau during the turbulent tenure of Director Kash Patel.
“I’ve had people say, ‘I just go in and sit at my desk and don’t do anything … basically responding to emails, taking the virtual academy classes, and staying out of trouble,’” one former agent told Our News Outlet. “They don’t want to get fired.”
Other agents described a similar atmosphere, speaking anonymously because they feared retaliation.
Concern over being dismissed for working on the “wrong” cases—particularly investigations later scrutinized by the Trump administration—has led some agents to quietly retreat from substantive casework.
“You can’t work under a culture of fear,” one agent said.
The abrupt resignation of FBI Deputy Director Andrew Bailey last month stunned many in Washington. But insiders say his departure highlights a deeper crisis: an agency losing experienced personnel and increasingly shaped by fears of retaliation.
Current and former FBI agents who spoke to Our News Outlet described the turbulent tenure of agency Director Kash Patel
The J. Edgar Hoover Building, home to FBI headquarters, is seen in Washington, D.C. Sources say some of the nation’s most experienced federal agents inside are paralyzed by fear
Our News Outlet spoke with five current and former FBI agents familiar with conditions inside the bureau.
“I would say morale has never been this bad ever” at the FBI, one former agent said.
“They are leading with intimidation,” a second agent said of Patel and his senior leadership team. “And honestly, I think a lot of the culture has shifted toward, ‘What will make the director happy,’ instead of what is actually best for the division and the mission.”
The FBI “is in bad shape,” said another person familiar with the bureau’s operations. In that individual’s assessment, the agency has been “hollowed out” by the departure of experienced personnel from FBI headquarters and its 56 field offices.
According to a lawsuit filed by former acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, all six of the bureau’s executive assistant directors were fired or instructed to resign or retire soon after President Donald Trump took office to avoid termination. Others left voluntarily.
“The people that don’t want to work for this organization anymore are leaving,” one person said.
The bureau has also demoted, reassigned or removed several special agents in charge. Those moves have raised concerns among Senate Democrats and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents Association, or FBIAA, a voluntary professional organization representing more than 14,000 active and retired FBI special agents.
The FBIAA was “deeply concerned by reports that FBI special agents—case agents and senior leaders alike—are going to be summarily fired without due process for doing their jobs investigating potential federal crimes,” a spokesperson said in a statement last August.
“Agents are not given the option to pick and choose their cases, and these agents carried out their assignments with professionalism and integrity. Most importantly, they followed the law,” the FBIAA spokesperson added.
One agent estimated that developing true expertise in a specialized area of investigative work takes about 15 years. Among those leaving the FBI are mentors who traditionally train younger agents and teach them how to build and pursue complex cases.
The FBI ‘is in bad shape,’ said another individual with knowledge of the bureau’s operations
Patel previously sparked widespread outrage after footage emerged of him partying in the locker room with the US men’s ice hockey team after their Olympics win
Those who remain are questioning who replaces them. Several sources cited the FBI’s decision to drop automatic disqualification for applicants with past involvement in prostitution or bestiality as particularly concerning.
The bestiality issue ’caused a lot of people to lose confidence’ in the judgment of FBI leadership, one FBI agent said.
YOU MAY ALSO READ: ABC Seeks Court Order to Halt FCC License Review, Alleges Trump Administration Retaliation
‘People are asking, “What exactly are we trying to build here?” they added. ‘Are we trying to maintain an organization with a certain level of expertise, standards, and professionalism, or are we simply trying to fill seats?’
Leadership has also left its own people in the dark. Last month, the FBI told current and former staff that hackers – allegedly the group ShinyHunters – had stolen their names, addresses, job titles and Social Security numbers.
But in the weeks since, those impacted by the breach have heard ‘zilch,’ one person said. There’s been no further help or indication on how the bureau is fixing vulnerabilities.
Patel – who previously sparked widespread outrage after footage emerged of him partying in the locker room with the US men’s hockey team after their Olympics win – is seen by some inside the FBI as appearing to be out of touch, image-obsessed and ill-equipped for the job. Some expressed sympathy for a director they believe is poorly advised and inexperienced in day-to-day operations.
Patel ‘insists’ on disproportionate credit for FBI ‘wins,’ one former agent said. Others said he wants to ‘look and behave’ like an agent – wearing the badge, touting statistics – while remaining disconnected from nearly all of them.
The FBI did not respond to Our News Outlet’s request for comment. A spokesperson for Director Patel did not respond to a separate request for comment.
A spokesperson for the White House disputed suggestions that Trump’s FBI director has struggled to adjust to the role, telling Our News Outlet that Patel ‘is doing a fantastic job helping keep the Homeland safe, combatting terrorism, and investigating crimes.’
‘Thanks to President Trump and Director Patel, the FBI helped delivered the largest decrease in violent crime in American history and safer communities for Americans,’ White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said.
Others familiar with Patel’s leadership touted the 9.3 percent drop in violent crime in the US during 2025 – the largest annual decline on record, as well as major decreases in other areas.
But Patel’s appetite for credit and chest-thumping adulation has burned other agencies.
Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi swears in Kash Patel (pictured with his now-fiancée Alexis Wilkins) in February 2025
A spokesperson for the White House disputed suggestions that Trump’s FBI director has struggled to adjust to the role
Patel boasted on social media of foiling an alleged attack plot at this summer’s White House UFC event before all the suspects were arrested and while the case was under seal.
The Secret Service, which said it had run the probe ‘from the beginning,’ was furious. ‘We all woke up this morning to see this on Twitter,’ one official told MS NOW.
Last year he announced that a potential suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination was in custody, only for the individual to be cleared hours later.
Then there’s his alleged use of the FBI plane for personal purposes, and his alleged use of taxpayer-funded helicopter tours and jet ski excursions with his now-fiancée Alexis Wilkins, which prompted concerns from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year.
Patel bitterly denied allegations that he has inappropriately used FBI resources at an oversight hearing last month. ‘Total lie,’ he told Democrats when pressed on the allegations.
Patel has pushed back on the notion that the FBI ‘purged’ agents who investigated the January 6 US Capitol riot or other politically sensitive probes – most recently, in a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.
The FBI Agents’ Association has warned the firings risk ‘severely weaken[ing] the Bureau’s ability to protect the country from national security and criminal threats.’
More than a dozen agents who worked on politically sensitive probes have sued for alleged wrongful termination, and have since amended their lawsuit to represent a broader class of more than 50 former agents.
The former agents are seeking reinstatement to their roles, as well as back pay and formal declaration that their removals violated due process.
Both the former agents and lawyers for the Trump administration will appear in federal court later this month for a motions hearing on the matter.
Regardless of the outcome, however, the agents who spoke to Our News Outlet said they believe that restoring the bureau’s reputation will take many years.
One agent said: ‘I don’t think the leadership [in place] has the necessary character to do it right.’
