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Kash Patel used an FBI jet to fly to a George Strait and Chris Stapleton concert at the Linc, a news report said

FBI Director Kash Patel is drawing renewed criticism after the New York Times reported he used a government jet to fly to Philadelphia for a country music concert at the Linc.

FBI director Kash Patel testifies before a Senate subcommittee on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
FBI director Kash Patel testifies before a Senate subcommittee on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Read moreJose Luis Magana / AP

FBI Director Kash Patel, who has drawn renewed criticism for allegedly repeatedly using bureau resources for leisure, flew into Philadelphia on a government jet last spring to attend a country music concert, the New York Times reported Friday.

The FBI director and his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, traveled from Washington to Philadelphia on May 10, 2025, to see George Strait and Chris Stapleton perform at Lincoln Financial Field, the report said. According to the Times, Patel and Wilkins flew here and back to Virginia on the FBI’s Gulfstream V jet.

The couple watched the hot-ticket country music performance from a suite at the Linc, which the Times reported sold for $35,000 to $50,000.

According to an Inquirer review at the time, more than 52,000 fans attended the two-hour, 30-song show, which was the first of Strait’s 2025 tour. The crowd’s dress code of choice was jean skirts and cowboy boots.

An FBI spokesperson told the Times that Wilkins, Patel’s girlfriend and a country singer herself, was “an invited guest” of the performers. Through the spokesperson, Patel declined to respond to Times’ questions about who financed the outing for himself and Ms. Wilkins. Patel has previously come under fire for providing Wilkins with a full-time security detail, citing death threats she’s received.

Earlier this week, the Associated Press also reported that Patel took a “VIP snorkel” around a sunken battleship at Pearl Harbor after a trip visiting the bureau’s South Pacific facilities.

Patel has struggled to shake questions about his use of a government jet for flights around the country that have no apparent law enforcement purpose, like last fall when he traveled to State College for a pro wrestling event where Wilkins had performed the national anthem.

In February, the issue flared again when video surfaced of Patel partying in the locker room with members of the U.S. men’s hockey team after their gold medal win at the Winter Olympics in Milan.

Patel has repeatedly defended the trip.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.