FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday announced he would resign from the bureau at the end of the Biden administration next month, with more than two years remaining on his term in office.
"My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you're doing on behalf of the American people every day," he told employees at an FBI town hall, according to an excerpt the FBI shared with reporters. "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."
President-elect Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social called Wray's resignation "a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice." The FBI director reports to the Department of Justice. "I just don't know what happened to him."
Trump had already said he would nominate Kash Patel, a close ally and former national security aide, to replace Wray.
"We want our FBI back, and that will now happen," Trump said in the post, referring to his pick of Patel.
The president-elect made the FBI a frequent target during his first term in the White House. He nominated Wray to head the FBI, which Wray has led since 2017. But Trump's relationship with Wray grew tense as FBI agents helped investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election, and then worked with a special counsel to prosecute Trump for hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort and attempting to cling to power in 2020.
Trump most recently criticized Wray during his first sit-down broadcast interview since being elected to a second term in the White House. He pointed in particular to the FBI's work searching Mar-a-Lago and not doing enough to address crime, when asked on NBC's Meet the Press With Kristen Welker about whether he'd fire Wray when he gets into office.
But Trump also appeared to be personally offended by something Wray said earlier this summer: speaking at a congressional hearing after the first assassination attempt against Trump, Wray initially speculated on whether Trump's bloodied ear was the result of a bullet or shrapnel. The FBI later confirmed it was a bullet.
"Where's the shrapnel coming from? Is it coming from — is it coming from heaven? I don't think so," Trump said in the NBC interview. "So we need somebody to straighten — you know, I have a lot of respect for the FBI, but the FBI's respect has gone way down over the last number of years."
Trump hired Wray after firing Comey
It's the second time an FBI leader has left in connection to the Trump administration before the director's 10-year-term had expired. In 2017, Trump's Justice Department leaders dismissed James Comey and Trump replaced him with Wray, a longtime conservative and member of the Federalist Society.
After Trump's election to a second term in the White House, Wray had initially signaled he intended to remain on the job. "The director is continuing to oversee the day to day operations of the FBI and is actively planning with his team to lead the FBI into next year and beyond," an FBI official said in November after the election.
The FBI employs more than 35,000 people who work to investigate federal crimes, prevent terrorist attacks and analyze intelligence materials. Its leader is the only political appointee at the FBI. Congress tried to insulate the agency from political winds by giving the FBI director 10 years in office, to extend beyond the tenure of any one president.
The FBI Agents Association, which advocates for the more than 14,000 FBI special agents, called for a meeting with Trump's team about its priorities.
"Our country faces a barrage of national security and criminal threats, making a stable transition of leadership in the Bureau essential to the safety of the American public," Natalie Bara, president of the association, said in a statement. "It is important that the next director uphold the central role of the rank-and-file Special Agents in fulfilling this mission."
Some of Trump's conservative advisers have suggested trying to overhaul the FBI to make its director accountable to more junior officials inside the Justice Department with more political control.
The FBI's headquarters building continues to bear the name of J. Edgar Hoover, its longest-serving leader, whose tenure is now remembered for overreach and personal vendettas. He ended up leading the FBI for 48 years, which helped prompt the 10-year limit on tenures for FBI directors.
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