India, Sept. 16 -- FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday defended changes to the bureau's hiring rules that allow some applicants with past involvement in prostitution or childhood experiences involving bestiality to be considered for jobs, saying the policy was intended to ensure victims of trafficking and abuse were not automatically disqualified.

Patel faced sharp questioning from both Democrats and Republicans during a lengthy Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, where lawmakers also challenged him over the firing of FBI agents involved in investigations of President Donald Trump and the bureau's role in the upcoming November midterm elections.

The FBI quietly changed its hiring guidance this spring, removing a blanket restriction on ap...