After more than seven years at the helm, FBI Director Christopher Wray is stepping down from leading America’s national domestic intelligence service after it was clear President-elect Donald J. Trump had eyes on his own pick to lead the organisation.
Trump has long been vocal about his disdain for the way the FBI, under Wray, had conducted investigations that resulted in two federal cases brought against him during former President Joe Biden’s reign in office.
Rumours, as reported by CNN, say the resignation will make way for President Trump’s next pick for the role, Kash Patel, a government lawyer, vocal critic of the running of the FBI and ardent supporter during the now leader’s second election campaign.
Out-the-door Wray had wrestled with whether or not to resign given the support for Patel and decided an early exit was in everyone's best interest.
“After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current Administration in January and then step down,” Wray said.
“There’s no question 2025 is going to be a year of change - and not just for the FBI, but for the country more broadly.”
The outgoing director's tenure encompassed thwarting potential threats against the nation, including cyber threats to national security, strangling illicit drug flow into the country and an ISIS plot to carry out an election day attack earlier this year and crimes against children.
Swings and roundabouts
It’s not the first time a sitting FBI director has vacated their role around an election, notably with the dismissal of Wray’s predecessor James Comey, who was fired by President Trump in 2017 during his first term in office.
Wray's announcement comes a day after Comey posted on Elon Musk’s X “I realise there is a great deal of anxiety in the Bureau now, produced by the rhetoric of those who have reason to fear honest investigators”.
“But please know you will be ok in the long run.”