Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) clashed with FBI Director Kash Patel during a Senate Judiciary hearing Tuesday over a new physical requirement for FBI applicants: the ability to do a pull-up. The requirement, which Patel implemented during his tenure as director, has drawn criticism from Hirono, who argued that “physiological differences” between men and women make the standard unfair.
“You are now requiring applicants to be able to do a certain kind of pull-ups, which a lot of women cannot because of physiological differences,” Hirono said during the hearing. “Are you requiring these kinds of pull-ups?”
Patel responded by defending the physical fitness standards. “We are requiring a physical program at BFTC at Quantico because FBI agents carrying guns in the field have to chase down bad guys and do really hard work. The physical fitness standards of those agents—”
Hirono interrupted him, repeating her concern about the pull-up standard. Patel replied firmly, “We are requiring everybody to pass the 1811 standards of the FTC. If you want to chase down a bad guy and put him in handcuffs, you better be able to do a pull-up.”
Hirono called the standard “harsh” for women, but Patel shot back, “Doing one pull-up is not harsh, and there are always medical exemptions to that.”
The FBI’s current fitness guidelines for the Tactical Recruiting Program (TRP) require female candidates to do at least one strict pull-up. Males must complete 2-3 to achieve a passing score. The FBI’s definition of a pull-up includes strict form: no swinging, jerking, or using the legs for momentum.
Hirono’s protest stood in contrast with her party’s usual positions on gender, where terms like “woman” are rarely defined, and gender is often treated as a social construct.
