At a hearing before a Senate budget panel, Patel defended his leadership of the FBI against ​Democratic accusations that his conduct, including the reported drinking, had undermined national security ​and demonstrated poor judgment.

It was Patel’s first appearance before Congress since his beer-drinking celebration at the Milan Winter Olympics and the publication of an article in the ​Atlantic magazine drew renewed scrutiny to his tenure. Both matters were raised in the hearing.

Patel ​testified in support of the Trump administration’s proposed $12.5 billion 2027 budget for the FBI and defended his performance, saying violent crime had fallen over the past year while FBI arrests had increased.

Senator Chris Van ​Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, questioned Patel about the Atlantic report, which detailed instances ​of “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences” during his tenure that had alarmed officials at the FBI and the ‌Justice ⁠Department.

Patel has sued The Atlantic and its reporter over the article, accusing them of defamation. The magazine has said it stands behind its reporting.

“If true, they demonstrate a gross dereliction of your duty and a betrayal of public trust,” Van Hollen said at the start ​of the hearing.

Patel, who ​was nominated to ⁠the post by President Donald Trump, denied what was reported in the article, calling it a “total farce.”

He then accused Van Hollen of “slinging ​margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar,” a reference to ​the senator’s ⁠trip last year to visit Kilmar Abrego, a Salvadoran migrant from Maryland who was imprisoned in El Salvador following wrongful deportation by the Trump administration.

Van Hollen responded that Patel’s statement was “provably ⁠false.” ​Photos of the trip showed Van Hollen and Abrego ​with cocktail glasses on a table, but Van Hollen later said the glasses were placed there by Salvadoran government ​officials to undermine the credibility of the meeting.