FBI director says he intends to resign at end of Joe Biden’s term
Mr Wray’s intended resignation is not unexpected considering that Donald Trump had picked Kash Patel for the role in his new administration.
FBI director Christopher Wray has said he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January, an announcement that came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the job.
At a town hall meeting with the bureau workforce, Mr Wray said he would be stepping down “after weeks of careful thought”.
Mr Wray’s intended resignation is not unexpected considering that Mr Trump had picked Mr Patel for the role in his new administration.
Mr Wray had previously been named by Mr Trump and began the 10-year term — a length meant to insulate the agency from the political influence of changing administrations — in 2017, after Mr Trump fired then-FBI director James Comey.
Mr Trump had demonstrated his anger with Mr Wray on multiple occasions, including after Mr Wray’s congressional testimony in September.
“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” Mr Wray told agency employees.
“In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.”
Mr Wray continued: “It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway — this is not easy for me. I love this place, I love our mission, and I love our people — but my focus is, and always has been, on us and doing what’s right for the FBI.”
Mr Wray received a standing ovation following his remarks before a standing-room-only crowd at FBI headquarters and some in the audience cried, according to an FBI official who was not authorised to discuss the private gathering and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.
Mr Trump applauded the news on social media, calling it “a great day for America as it will end the weaponisation of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice” and saying that Mr Patel’s confirmation will begin “the process of Making the FBI Great Again”.
If confirmed by the Senate, Mr Patel would herald a radical leadership transformation at the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency.
He has advocated shutting down the FBI’s Washington headquarters and called for ridding the federal government of “conspirators”, raising alarm that he might seek to wield the FBI’s significant investigative powers as an instrument of retribution against Mr Trump’s perceived enemies.
Mr Patel said in a statement Wednesday that he was looking forward to “a smooth transition. I will be ready to serve the American people on day one”.
