The FBI received a record number of new agent applications in Director Kash Patel’s first full month leading the bureau, with the flood of law enforcement job-seekers nearly doubling the monthly average since 2016.
There were 5,577 new FBI agent applications submitted in March, Fox News Digital has learned.
The last time the bureau saw a monthly figure even close to that number was April 2016, with 5,283 applications.
By comparison, the monthly average in 2023 was 2,797 applications, with 3,383 applications per month in 2024, according to FBI data reviewed by Fox News Digital.
‘Director Patel and Deputy Director (Dan) Bongino have put a major emphasis on restoring confidence in federal law enforcement and boosting new agent recruiting,’ FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Fox News Digital Wednesday. ‘These record early returns certainly suggest the new FBI is heading in the right direction.’
Since January, the FBI has seen more than 10,000 new agent applications, according to FBI data.
In January, the first month of the Trump administration and the month of Patel’s nomination and confirmation hearing, the FBI saw 4,143 applications to join the bureau – the first time the bureau had seen a month of new agent applications in the 4,000s since August 2020.
‘The record number of FBI job applications in March shows that people are inspired by Kash Patel’s commitment to restoring integrity and effectiveness at the bureau,’ Patel advisor Erica Knight told Fox News Digital Wednesday. ‘Americans are putting their trust in his leadership to rebuild the FBI and keep our communities safe.’
And, Knight told Fox News Digital, ‘this is just the beginning.’
‘Kash is dedicated to creating a stronger, more trusted FBI that serves the American people the way it was always meant to,’ Knight said.
During his Senate confirmation hearing in late January, Patel illustrated the ‘erosion of trust’ at the bureau, pointing to polling revealing that ‘only 40% of Americans hold a favorable view of the FBI.’
‘This must change,’ Patel testified. ‘Public cooperation is vital for the bureau to solve crimes, and its declining reputation is already affecting recruitment efforts.’
The record number of new agent applications comes as Patel and Bongino put a heavy emphasis on new agent recruiting and restoring law enforcement morale by ‘letting good cops be cops.’
In March, Patel released an FBI recruitment video, showing the director in the field with agents and highlighting footage from the hostage rescue team facility urging people to join the team.
The video ends with a graphic showing the FBI seal, and the words: ‘A renewed mission. A stronger future.’
‘Apply today at FBIJobs.gov,’ the video says.
Patel and Bongino also have privately emphasized to their staff the importance of boosting local partner engagement.
Sources familiar told Fox News Digital that Patel has instructed his team to offer full and total support to the families of fallen officers, while Bongino has personally reached out and met with the uniformed officers on FBI ground to thank them for their work that ‘often goes unnoticed.’
‘Our team will continue to recruit the best law enforcement personnel in the country,’ Williamson told Fox News Digital. ‘We hope to see even more brave men and women want to be a part of what we’re building.’