FBI Director Kash Patel agreed Tuesday to take an alcohol identification test regarding his alleged use after he participated in a heated exchange with Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen.

The exchange occurred during a hearing in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee, where Van Hollen raised concern regarding reports that Patel allegedly engages in excessive drinking to a level that it concerns people in the bureau. Patel has denied the reports.

Van Hollen urged the director to take the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, which is used to detect hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption, but Patel claimed he would only take the test if Van Hollen takes it with him.

“I’ll take any test you’re willing to,” Patel told the senator. “Let’s go. Side by side.”

The exchange comes after a story by the Atlantic raised questions about Patel's sobriety, citing sources who claimed the director has been so intoxicated before that his staff had to force their way into his home.

“I really don’t care about your personal life, so long as you are able to perform your public and official responsibilities, which are awesome responsibilities," Van Hollen said. “When your private actions make it impossible for you to perform your public duties, we have a big problem. You cannot perform those public duties if you’re incapacitated." 

Patel claimed the reports of his drinking are “unequivocally, categorically false," and accused the senator of drinking margaritas while on an official trip last year to El Salvador, which Van Hollen has denied.

“The only person who was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gang banging rapist was you,” Patel said.

The FBI director has since sued the Atlantic over its reporting. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.