FBI Director Chris Wray, who was originally appointed by President-elect Donald Trump but has since drawn his ire, announced his pending resignation on Wednesday in advance of Trump’s second term.
The resignation would not be immediately effective, CNN’s Evan Perez reported, but would come before Trump is inaugurated and presumably intended to fire Wray.
FBI Director Chris Wray, who was originally appointed by President-elect Donald Trump but has since drawn his ire, announced his pending resignation on Wednesday in advance of Trump’s second term.
The resignation would not be immediately effective, CNN’s Evan Perez reported, but would come before Trump is inaugurated and presumably intended to fire Wray.
The New York Times reported that Wray “told bureau employees on Wednesday that he intended to resign in January, bowing to the reality that President-elect Donald J. Trump had publicly declared his desire to replace him.”
FBI directors serve ten-year terms and Wray would have otherwise had two years left in his term, but Trump has long railed about the “deep state” at the FBI and DOJ for their role in prosecuting him, especially after classified documents were seized at Mar-a-Lago. Trump had gone so far as to voice his intention to appoint Kash Patel to take over at the FBI.
“I am proud to announce that Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel will serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump told his followers on Truth Social in late November.
He added, “Kash has also tried over 60 jury trials. This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border. Kash will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI.”
Patel has stirred controversy and concern over his past threats to go after journalists whom he baselessly claimed helped steal the 2020 presidential election. “We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media. Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections,” Patel told Steve Bannon in late 2023
