For weeks, the Trump administration has targeted the F.B.I. as agents waited for the arrival of their new director, Kash Patel, who has spent years bashing the bureau for its investigations into President Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
So top agents around the country and others eagerly awaited a videoconference call on Wednesday with Mr. Patel wondering what he would say after weeks of chaos and fear have gripped the F.B.I.
Reactions were mixed, according to a half dozen people familiar with the details of the call.
Mr. Patel covered a whirlwind of topics in about 30 minutes. Some were expected. He said his priorities included crushing violent crime and defending America’s national security. He complained about leaks to the news media, a tradition among F.B.I. directors.
The call — usually reserved for the most serious of topics — was also surprising in many ways, the people said. For starters, Mr. Patel disregarded his briefing book for the call, a staple for any serious meeting in Washington, and said he did not like to read them. He also said he was not big on meetings or wearing suits.
It was not immediately clear if he would continue to schedule the Wednesday calls with the same frequency, which Christopher A. Wray, his predecessor, inherited from James B. Comey, whom Mr. Trump fired in 2017. Mr. Wray stepped down on Jan. 20 rather than be fired.
At one point in the call, Mr. Patel stepped away, leaving Robert C. Kissane, his acting deputy, and Jodi Cohen, the acting No. 3, to fill the time.
Mr. Patel said he would like the F.B.I. to partner with Ultimate Fighting Championship, the popular mixed martial arts company. His incoming deputy, Dan Bongino, is a big fan. Mr. Patel also indicated that he wanted to revamp the bureau’s physical fitness test and spend more time in Nevada, where he lives, and the West Coast.
During the call, Mr. Patel said his visits to field offices with Mr. Bongino would be surprises because he did not want to stress employees out.
Mr. Patel, who plays hockey, said he wanted to join the F.B.I.’s team. (It is not clear if he could make the cut. Former agents say the team is very good.)
In a twist, he added that the bureau had to rebuild trust with the public but said it was already improving since he was sworn in last week. Mr. Patel, who served as a surrogate for Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign and even wrote a children’s book celebrating the president as “King Donald,” said he was apolitical.
It was not lost on people listening to the call that Mr. Patel played a pivotal role in degrading the bureau’s reputation by attacking its investigation — among others — into the nature of ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. Mr. Trump, whom Mr. Patel has called a “juggernaut of justice,” has derided that investigation as a hoax and witch hunt.
To portray the investigation as politically motivated, Mr. Patel has falsely described the facts and circumstances by which the F.B.I. decided to open it. F.B.I. officials made serious errors in the inquiry, the Justice Department’s inspector general concluded, but they had sufficient reason to start it.
Mr. Patel used the words intelligence and counterintelligence interchangeably, suggesting that he was confusing them, the people said. Both have distinct but vital roles at the F.B.I.
According to the F.B.I., the intelligence branch supports operations and “manages the F.B.I.’s intelligence strategy, resources, policies and programs.” The counterintelligence division protects the nation’s secrets.
Adding to his immense responsibilities, Mr. Patel was also sworn in Monday as acting chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
In an email, the F.B.I. media office declined to comment.
