The FBI is opening a new field office in Billings, Montana, part of a broader push into Indian Country called Operation Steadfast Promise, according to prepared testimony from FBI Director Kash Patel ahead of his Tuesday appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Patel’s opening statement, obtained by Fox News Digital, frames the Billings expansion as one piece of a larger internal shake-up that moved more than 1,000 agents and staff out of headquarters and into field operations across the country.
The hearing marks the Senate committee’s annual FBI oversight session, and Patel plans to use it to lay out what he calls “the most prolific run of crime reduction in United States history.”
National Numbers
According to the FBI’s own figures cited in Patel’s statement, the national murder rate fell 20% over the past 18 months. Violent crime arrests rose 90% during that period, and arrests of violent criminals and gang members climbed 30%.
“In 2025, according to the Uniform Crime Report, we delivered the LARGEST year to year reduction of violent crime in AMERICAN HISTORY,” Patel’s statement reads. “They happened with an administration that BACKS the BLUE and a new FBI that has been REBUILT to crush violent threats BEFORE they harm Americans.”
Patel credits the results to support from the Trump administration, saying the bureau could not have achieved them otherwise.
Terrorism and Fugitives
Patel’s statement says the FBI disrupted a terrorist attack near Pittsburgh over the weekend, after a suspect allegedly bought a firearm and signaled online plans to carry out a violent attack on behalf of ISIS.
The bureau says it has stopped about 1,039 people from carrying out terrorist attacks, part of more than 4,260 arrests connected to Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The FBI also says it secured major events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Grand Prix and UFC 250, without a major security incident.
Patel is expected to announce the capture of Anibal Alexander Canelon Aguirre in Venezuela, the tenth fugitive taken off the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” list during his tenure — more than 2.5 times the number caught during the previous four years combined. The FBI says Aguirre led an international scheme to steal millions of dollars from financial institutions through ATM “jackpotting” in support of Tren de Aragua since at least 2024.
Drugs, Trafficking and Technology
The statement also credits the FBI with seizing more than 3,258 kilograms of fentanyl, identifying about 11,000 child victims, and arresting more than 5,000 child predators and human traffickers.
Patel says the bureau expanded its use of artificial intelligence by 605% to speed up threat detection and case processing, and eliminated a backlog of 1.8 million forensic lab samples that had built up for years before his confirmation. “As of last month, that backlog is now ZERO,” the statement reads. Patel also says spending and facilities reviews saved the bureau more than $300 million.
For Montana, the practical result of these changes is the new Billings field office, which Patel’s statement ties directly to Operation Steadfast Promise, the bureau’s effort to expand its presence and investigative reach in Indian Country.
