Kash Patel's confirmation hearing has begun, with Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, offered a preemptive defense of Patel, saying the FBI director nominee has been unfairly attacked by critics and inaccurately accused of having an "enemies list."

Democrats will have a chance to offer a statement too, before Patel provides his opening statement.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to meet at 9:30 a.m. ET for Kash Patel's confirmation hearing.

Patel will face Senate Judiciary members from both sides of the aisle in what is expected to be a contentious hearing at times.

He hopes to convince senators that he can rebuild faith in the FBI and keep politics out of its investigations, but Democrats insist his previous public comments suggest otherwise.

Sen. Durbin questioned Patel over his past association with far-right extremist figures, including Laura Loomer -- who has regularly peddled conspiracy theories and racist tropes to attack those opposed to President Trump.

When asked about a picture showing Patel and Loomer together at an event promoting one of Patel's previous books, Patel declined to criticize Loomer directly but said he rejected any suggestion of "guilt by association."

"I don't believe I'm guilty by association, and I certainly don't believe that an individual who is the first minority to serve as a Deputy Director of National Intelligence for this country is a racist in any way. And I detest any conjecture to the contrary," he said.