FBI Director Christopher Wray announced Wednesday that he plans to resign ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next month.
Wray’s announcement follows Trump publicly saying he plans to nominate former federal prosecutor and his loyal ally, Kash Patel, to head up the agency, replacing Wray, Trump’s own nominee, more than two years before the expiration of his 10-year term.
“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 told FBI staffers, adding, “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.”
Trump said a few days ago that his plan to dismiss Wray is retribution for the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago, where agents uncovered troves of classified documents that led to federal criminal charges against Trump.
“He invaded Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said of Wray during an NBC News interview that aired Sunday. “I’m very unhappy with the things he’s done.”
In a post on social media, the president-elect celebrated the news of Wray’s imminent resignation.
“The resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice. I just don’t know what happened to him,” Trump wrote, adding that Wray’s staff “illegally raided my home, without cause.”
Trump nominated Wray to the role in 2017 after firing James Comey from it, claiming he “wasn’t doing a good job.” At the time, Comey had been leading an investigation into whether the 2016 Trump campaign had colluded with Russian interference in the presidential election.
During Wray’s Senate confirmation hearing in July 2017, he told lawmakers he didn’t think the Russia investigation was the “witch hunt” Trump had characterized it as and vowed to resist any pressure from the White House.
In a major break from longstanding protocol, Trump notably did not attend Wray’s swearing-in ceremony two months later.
Trump later tried to oust Wray in 2020, according to a Politico report the following year. His plan was to replace him with counterintelligence head William Evanina, clearing the way for Patel to become the bureau’s deputy director. The plan reportedly fell apart when then-Attorney General William Barr threatened to resign if Trump fired Wray.
Though Wray is a Republican, Biden kept him at the FBI.
Patel, who would take over the agency if he’s confirmed, has limited experience in leadership and law enforcement and a fondness for deep-state conspiracy theories. He also wrote a children’s book that features Trump as “King Donald” and vowed to “come after” the media and Trump’s enemies.
“Kash Patel is the most qualified Nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency’s History,” Trump said Wednesday, “and is committed to helping ensure that Law, Order, and Justice will be brought back to our Country again, and soon.”