 "Country music artist Alexis Wilkins, who, as reported by Daily Mail, is Patel’s girlfriend. Image Courtesy: @AlexisWilkins/X")
US President Donald Trump’s FBI candidate, Kash Patel, made an appearance in the Senate last week for a confirmation hearing.
He was seated in the front row with a swarm of close friends and family who came from India to attend the hearing .
Among them was Alexis Wilkins, a country music performer and Patel’s girlfriend, according to the Daily Mail.
Many people are curious about the duo’s relationship.
Here’s all we know about her.
Who is Alexis Wilkins?
Born on November 3, 1999, in Boston, Alexis Wilkins is an American country music artist, writer, and media personality.
The 26-year-old was primarily raised in Arkansas and spent her early years in England and Switzerland.
She later moved to Nashville to pursue a career in country music.
Wilkins started writing songs early on; at the age of eight, her debut single, Higher Than the Mountains, was released.
Her solo debut was with Holdin’ On in 2020. Her EP Grit peaked at #4 on the iTunes chart in 2023, while the song “Country Back” rose to #2 on the iTunes country rankings.
She is known for performing as an opening act for Sara Evans and Lee Greenwood of God Bless the USA, and other artists, including Joe Nichols, Aaron Lewis, Curtis Grimes, and RaeLynn.
Her music, which frequently has patriotic overtones, has received over a million plays on various platforms.
She also collaborates with Warrior Rounds, a group that is unsigned by a record label but writes music with veterans to help the community, according to Economic Times.
In recent years, Wilkins has become more well-known in conservative circles.
She spoke at events hosted by the Young America Foundation and at the Reagan Ranch in California. She works for the John Wayne Cancer Foundation as well.
She also speaks for the conservative group PragerU. Additionally, she hosts a podcast called Between the Headlines on Rumble, an anti-censorship website that was created in reaction to YouTube’s restrictions.
Wilkins has taken up a new position on Capitol Hill as the press secretary for Arizona Representative Abe Hamadeh, adding another political feather to her already formidable cap.
Regardless of her new role in the Senate, she plans to continue commuting between Nashville and Washington, DC, maintaining her cowboy hat.
How did she meet Kash Patel?
A source who talked to the publication claims that Kash Patel and Wilkins first crossed paths at a conservative ReAwaken America event in October 2022. The event is a mix of political symposiums and rallies, with a healthy dose of networking possibilities.
However, the pair clicked during conversations about governance, policy, and the standard political rhetoric.
The Dailymail, which cited sources, said that what started out as a formal introduction and informal discussion of public work quickly developed into a lot more.
However, it wasn’t before January 2023 that the couple started dating and began considering future with each other, despite their age gap of 18 years.
Since going public with their relationship early that year, the couple has been seen together at a number of conservative events.
Who is Kash Patel?
Kashyap Pramod Vinod Patel, who has Gujarati ancestry, is an American lawyer, former federal prosecutor and official, and conspiracy theorist.
In November, Patel was chosen to succeed Christopher Wray, who had led the FBI for more than seven years before Trump fired him for alleged disloyalty.
He was seen saying “Jai Shri Krishna” to his parents after presenting them at his confirmation hearing to lead the federal agency, demonstrating his tight ties to his Hindu heritage.
He positioned himself as the ideal candidate to rebuild public confidence in a law enforcement agency that, in his opinion, had lost its credibility.
If confirmed as director, he pledged to respect “due process and transparency.”
Patel, a well-known Trump supporter, had previously criticised the FBI for its investigations against the president and the Justice Department’s alleged abuse of the January 6 rioters.
He also told reporters that Trump was the victim of an “unconstitutional circus” while attending his latest criminal trial in New York with a small group of supporters.
Patel stated in a podcast interview last year that he would “shut down” the FBI’s headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington and “reopen it the next day as a museum of the ‘deep state’” if he were in control of the agency.
“And I’d take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to go chase down criminals. Go be cops,” he added.
With inputs from agencies