“Friends don’t let friends drive drunk!”
This expression was part of an ad campaign developed by the Leber Katz Partners advertising agency in New York. The U.S. Department of Transportation, led by Elizabeth Dole, partnered with the Ad Council to push the message nationwide. The slogan emphasized peer responsibility: friends should intervene to stop drunk driving.
I’m going to credit Kash Patel’s girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, for making sure on at least two occasions that her drunken friend didn’t drive home drunk. Out of concern for her safety, Patel has reportedly assigned a security detail of FBI SWAT agents (typically 8–12 agents in rotation). The Bureau justified the protective detail by citing “hundreds of credible death threats” tied to her relationship with Patel. Instead of calling her friend an Uber, Wilkins asked the FBI to split up her detail and escort her drunk friend home. Agents objected because it wasn’t part of their mission, and Patel allegedly called the team leader and told him to do as his girlfriend said. This reportedly happened on more than one occasion with at least two different girlfriends.
FBI Spokesperson Ben Williamson gave the typical MAGA response: “This is made up and did not happen.”
This is the same Ben Williamson who refuted claims about the time Patel spent in nightclubs, calling them “bogus” and “made up.” He said at the time that Patel was at the FBI headquarters daily, but that proved untrue.
The use of an FBI SWAT team to return your girlfriend's inebriated chum at the government's expense seems like a waste of resources. Wilkins might want to reconsider her friendships with people who would put her in this pricarious position more than once.
Patel is also being scrutinized for using a $60 million FBI jet to play golf with his friends in Scotland, attend hockey games in New York, and, of course, visit Wilkins in Nashville. It’s true that Patel has to reimburse the government at the commercial rate for using the jet, and that the FBI Director isn’t generally allowed to fly commercial. A round trip to Scotland on the private plane costs the public between $240,000 and $300,000. The commercial fare might range from $500 to $ 900 round-trip.
Ordering an FBI protective detail to escort a drunk friend of a girlfriend home would represent a serious lapse in judgment. Protective details are meant to safeguard individuals facing credible threats, not to serve as Ubers. Diverting elite agents from their mission undermines public trust in law enforcement, wastes taxpayer resources, and blurs the line between legitimate security needs and personal favors. Even if the agents themselves complied willingly, the optics suggest misuse of government authority for private convenience, which erodes confidence in the impartiality of federal institutions.
When officials treat taxpayer-funded assets as perks rather than tools for public service, it signals disregard for fiscal responsibility and sets a troubling precedent. Beyond the financial waste, such actions risk normalizing the idea that public office entitles individuals to privileges unavailable to ordinary citizens, weakening the credibility of government oversight and stewardship.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.