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Trump & FBI Director Patel on ‘Operation Summer Heat’
FBI Director Kash Patel & President Donald Trump delivered remarks from the Oval Office. Rapid Response posted on X: "on getting the dead hostages back: "They returned some more today. It’s a gruesome process. I almost hate to talk about it, but they’re digging... some died in tunnels that are way down under the earth... It’s a horrible atrocity."
FBI Director Kash Patel joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office Wednesday to tout federal law enforcement’s efforts to combat crime in major cities across the U.S.
"Operation Summer Heat"
Kash Patel, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), during a news conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
What they're saying:
Patel said more than 8,700 people accused of violent crimes had been arrested and more than 2,200 guns were seized during the three-month FBI initiative from June to September, which they’re calling "Operation Summer Heat."
"Just as we’re forging peace and stability abroad, we’re also restoring peace and safety and stability at home," Trump said.
The other side:
Current and former FBI officials say the bureau’s heightened focus on immigration and violent crime, areas typically worked by other local and federal agencies, risks drawing attention and resources from the sophisticated threats for which the FBI is uniquely responsible for confronting.
National Guard troops
FILE - FBI Director Kash Patel delivering remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House August 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Trump announced he will use his autho …
The backstory:
The Trump administration has claimed crime is rampant in several major U.S. cities, despite statistics not always supporting that. He has pushed to send National Guard troops to those areas.
Big picture view:
The Trump administration has already deployed National Guard troops to Washington and Memphis, and efforts to do so in Chicago and Portland, Oregon, have sparked legal fights.
RELATED: The Insurrection Act: What is it and could Trump invoke it for National Guard?
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IL, Chicago sue to stop Trump's National Guard plan
The state of Illinois and city of Chicago sued to block the Trump administration's plan to deploy the National Guard to the city.
Dig deeper:
National Guard troops sent to Illinois by Trump can stay in the state and under federal control, but can’t be deployed to protect federal property or go on patrol for now, an appeals court ruled Saturday.
The 500 Guard members from Texas and Illinois were mostly based at a U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, southwest of Chicago. A small number were sent to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Broadview.
What they're saying:
Local authorities, Trump says, have failed to safeguard communities, giving several Democrat-led cities as examples. He’s called Portland "war ravaged" and a "war zone" that is "burning down" and like "living in hell."
Government shutdown
Meanwhile:
The government shutdown has entered its third week. Thousands of federal employees have lost their jobs, and more are likely to follow.
The FBI is an essential government agency that remains open.
The Source: Information in this article was taken Background information was taken from previous FOX Television Station reportings and the Associated Press. This story was reported from Detroit.