Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) defended FBI Director Kash Patel on Monday following a report in The Atlantic alleging Patel has engaged in excessive alcohol use and other behaviors that have alarmed colleagues at the bureau.

“I don’t know anything about his drinking. I’ve not heard any rumors or heard any concerns,” McCormick told reporter Pablo Manríquez, who asked whether Patel’s “drinking” was a national security concern. “I think he’s executing his job brilliantly up to this point, so I don’t see why that would even be a controversial thing.”

“As long as it doesn’t affect his job in a negative way, I’m cool,” the Georgia Republican added.

Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the magazine on Monday, days after it published a profile detailing an alleged pattern of drinking, unexplained absences and paranoia about losing his job.

The story, titled “The FBI Director Is MIA,” cited conversations with more than two dozen people, including current and former FBI officials, members of Congress, hospitality-industry workers and others.

“Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information and private conversations, they described Patel’s tenure as a management failure and his personal behavior as a national-security vulnerability,” reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick wrote.

It stated that Patel has been known “to drink to the point of obvious intoxication” in front of White House and other Trump administration staff and that on multiple occasions within the past year, “members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated.”

Officials were also cited saying the FBI director had been “an irregular presence” at the agency’s headquarters and was “often away or unreachable.”

Patel and his legal team slammed the allegations as “false” and telegraphed plans to sue over the weekend, with the FBI director saying a lawsuit was “coming tomorrow” when asked about the possibility during a Sunday morning appearance on Fox News.

The complaint argues that the article’s sources were “not in a position to know the facts,” framing the story as part of a broader smear campaign against the bureau chief.

“The Article itself reveals that Defendants understood their sources were animated by hostility. Defendants relied on ‘former advisers’ and ‘political operatives’ — categories of sources with obvious axes to grind,” the defamation suit states.

A spokesperson for The Atlantic defended its reporting in a statement on Monday, writing that the magazine would “vigorously defend” its journalists against the “meritless” lawsuit.

Patel’s alleged drinking habits came under renewed scrutiny in recent months after a viral video showed him partying and chugging beers with players in the Team USA locker room following their victory against Canada on the final day of the Winter Olympics.

The controversy also comes after three top officials have departed the administration in recent weeks — including former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former Attorney General Pam Bondi and most recently, outgoing Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer — amid criticism.

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