FBI Director Kash Patel and Sen. Cory Booker got in a shouting match during Patel’s appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as the New Jersey Democrat accused him of being responsible for a “generational destruction of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.”

Patel retorted, telling Booker that he was an “embarrassment.” For several moments, the Republican chairman of the committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, pounded his gavel but struggled to gain control of the hearing.

The exchange exemplified the tension between Patel and skeptical Democrats, as the FBI director faced questions from senators about the investigation into Charlie Kirk’s killing, the case against sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the firings of senior FBI officials who have accused Patel of illegal political retribution.

The oversight hearing, the first of Patel’s young but tumultuous tenure, provides a high-stakes platform for him to confront Democrats at a time of internal upheaval and mounting concerns about political violence inside the United States, which President Donald Trump has sought to blame squarely on the left.

While speaking to reporters after his portion of the oversight hearing, Sen. Booker predicted that Patel would not last long in his post because of the turnover rate of Trump cabinet during his first administration.

"Donald Trump takes personnel advice from right-wing extremists about who he should hire, who he should keep, and who he should fire. So I have no confidence that he's going to be in that position very long. We'll see. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this will be the one guy because of how much he suffocates himself to the will of Donald Trump," Booker added.