FBI to lower requirements for special agents – Reuters

The bureau reportedly plans to scrap interviews and writing tests for internal candidates amid staffing shortages

The FBI is planning to make it easier for existing employees to become special agents by eliminating two long-standing vetting steps, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing sources. The change comes as Director Kash Patel seeks to reshape the bureau amid an agent shortage.

According to the report, Patel is expected to remove requirements for staff already working for the agency to sit for a panel interview and complete a writing assessment. Instead, internal candidates who pass a written exam through an online portal will proceed directly to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia for training.

The panel interview, conducted by three trained agents, traditionally screens candidates on life experience, public speaking, and critical thinking – steps critics say are now being eliminated. Retired Supervisory Special Agent Jeff Crocker, who vetted applicants for over 20 years, told Reuters the move would lower standards.

“The consequences of allowing such individuals lacking the impressive and necessary resumes to become FBI agents simply by passing a web-based test will be both seismic and generationally harmful to the republic,” Crocker said.

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An FBI spokesperson denied the bureau is “lowering standards or removing qualifications,” stating the change “streamlines the process to remove duplicative, bureaucratic steps.” Internal candidates must still secure a division leader’s recommendation and pass Quantico’s training program.

The reported changes come as Patel has sought to reshape the FBI, referring to agents as “cops” and steering the bureau more toward violent crime and immigration enforcement. The shift has pulled agents from complex national security and fraud investigations to assist with street patrols in Washington and support US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids amid a crackdown on illegal immigrants across the country.

The operations, however, have sparked controversy, particularly after two US citizens were fatally shot by federal agents during enforcement actions in Minneapolis last month. Critics have argued that agents are being thrust into high-stakes situations without adequate preparation, pointing to ICE’s own scaled-back training, which was recently slashed from five months to 42 days amid a recruitment surge.