A senior FBI official with 27 years of service has been dismissed following reports that revealed he used a government aircraft to travel and watch his girlfriend perform the national anthem at a rodeo event.
Steven Palmer, who had been with the agency since 1998, was removed from his position as head of the FBI Critical Incident Response Group, the unit responsible for handling major security threats and managing the agency’s aircraft fleet. He is the third leader of this unit to be dismissed since Kash Patel became FBI Director during the second Trump administration in February.
According to Bloomberg Law, which first reported the story, three anonymous sources expressed surprise at the firing, noting that Patel’s flight schedules were fully public and traceable online. A day after the performance, Patel himself shared photos on his X account showing him with his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins.
Bloomberg reports that Patel became furious after articles were published highlighting his use of an FBI plane to meet Wilkins. Shortly afterward, Palmer was instructed to resign immediately or face termination.
