Sure, Democrats have raised all kinds of reality-based objections to Kash Patel leading the FBI, but have you noticed the number of former Trump administration officials who've publicly slammed him, too?

Bolton, who worked directly with Patel during his tenure, argued that the prospective FBI leader placed “obedience to Mr. Trump above other, higher considerations — most important, loyalty to the Constitution.”

To resolve questions over his integrity and fitness, a full-field FBI investigation, as prior nominees have undergone, is warranted. With more facts available and less rhetoric, the result will be clear. I regret I didn’t fully discern Mr. Patel’s threat immediately. But we are now all fairly warned. Senators won’t escape history’s judgment if they vote to confirm him.

If Bolton were alone, his concerns might be easier to put aside, but he’s not.

Charles Kupperman, Patel’s supervisor in the first Trump administration, also told The Wall Street Journal, in reference to the prospective FBI chief, “He’s absolutely unqualified for this job. He’s untrustworthy. ... It’s an absolute disgrace to American citizens to even consider an individual of this nature.”

Former Attorney General William Barr, meanwhile, wrote in his memoir that Trump had considered making Patel the deputy director of the FBI in his first term, though Barr said he told the White House that would happen “over my dead body.”......

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has also raised concerns about the likelihood of Patel politicizing federal law enforcement.

As Bolton’s op-ed added, Olivia Troye, who served as counterterrorism adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, accused Patel of “making things up on operations.”

To be sure, Patel has pushed back against his critics, and his lawyer sent a threatening letter to Troye about her accusations.

The bottom line, however, remains the same: There are some prominent voices from the Trump administration, including some who worked with Patel directly, raising some serious red flags about his upcoming nomination to lead the FBI — which seems like the sort of thing that senators should take seriously.