FBI Director Kash Patel ratcheted up his fight with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen on Tuesday, posting on social media an expensive tab run up by the Democrat senator’s campaign at a swanky bar in Washington, D.C.
Patel and Van Hollen clashed during a hearing earlier on Tuesday over claims published in The Atlantic that the FBI chief had a drinking problem. After the hearing, Patel posted a campaign filing from December 12, 2025, showing that Van Hollen’s campaign spent $7,128 during an event at the Lobby Bar in D.C.
“The only person that ran up a $7,000 bar tab in Washington, D.C., at the Lobby Bar was you. The only individual in this room that has been drinking on the taxpayer dime during the day is you,” Patel said during the hearing.
A spokesman for Van Hollen told NBC that “this was a catering charge at a local restaurant where the Senator hosted an after-hours holiday reception as a thank you to the 50+ members of our team, paid for by campaign funds — not taxpayer dollars.”
During Tuesday’s hearing, Van Hollen attacked Patel over allegations of drinking on the job.
“Director Patel, these reports about your conduct, including reports of your being so drunk and hungover that your staff had to force entry into your home, are extremely alarming,” Van Hollen said.
“So, there have been no occasions when your security detail had difficulty waking or locating you?” Van Hollen asked Patel.
“Nope, it’s a total farce. I don’t even know where you get this stuff, but it doesn’t make it credible, because you say so,” Patel fired back.
Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over its report featuring anonymous sources accusing the FBI director of having a drinking problem. In response to Van Hollen’s accusations, Patel hit back by pointing to a photo posted by El Salavador President Nayib Bukele showing the Democrat senator seated next to accused MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia at a table with what appear to be margaritas.
Bukele captioned the photo by saying that Abrego Garica was “sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador.”
Credit: Nayib Bukele
“Unlike your baseless reports, the only person that was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gang-banging rapist was you,” Patel said.
Both Patel and Van Hollen challenged each other to take sobriety tests during the hearing.
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