By Solange Reyner | Wednesday, 13 May 2026 04:14 PM EDT
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., on Wednesday publicly released the results of an alcohol screening questionnaire and challenged FBI Director Kash Patel to do the same after a tense exchange between the two in a Senate hearing.
In a post on X, Van Hollen shared an image of a completed Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, or AUDIT, a widely used self-assessment tool designed to screen for risky alcohol consumption and potential alcohol-related disorders.
“Yesterday, @FBIDirectorKash told me he’d take the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test if I did. Well, here’s mine,” Van Hollen wrote.
“Given all the lies he told yesterday, I imagine he’ll fudge the numbers here, but let’s see yours, Director Patel,” the senator added.
The posted questionnaire showed Van Hollen scored three points on the 40-point screening test. According to public health guidelines, lower scores generally indicate low-risk alcohol use.
The exchange stemmed from a contentious Senate hearing Tuesday in which Van Hollen and Patel clashed over issues related to the FBI and the Trump administration. The conversation turned personal as the two men sparred over credibility and conduct.
The AUDIT questionnaire was developed by the World Health Organization and is commonly used by doctors and health professionals to identify unhealthy drinking habits. The test asks respondents about drinking frequency, volume of alcohol consumption, and possible alcohol-related consequences.
In the form shared by Van Hollen, the senator indicated he drinks alcohol “2-3 times a week” and typically consumes “1 or 2” drinks when drinking. He marked “never” for questions related to binge drinking, guilt after drinking, blackouts, and alcohol-related injuries or concerns raised by others.
Patel, an ally of President Donald Trump, has frequently drawn criticism from Democrats over his leadership and testimony before Congress, while Republicans have defended him against accusations they say are politically motivated.
The FBI director three weeks ago hit The Atlantic magazine with a $250 million defamation lawsuit, asserting that an article about mismanagement at the bureau and Patel’s alleged excessive drinking was false and a “malicious hit piece.”
The Atlantic said it stood by its reporting and would defend against the “meritless lawsuit.”
In the article, posted Friday on the magazine’s website, author Sarah Fitzpatrick said Patel is concerned about losing his job and “has good reasons to think so — including some having to do with what witnesses described to me as bouts of excessive drinking.” Fitzpatrick was also named as a defendant.
