President-elect Donald Trump has been deeply critical of Wray, a Republican whom Trump nominated after he fired the last FBI director. Trump plans to replace Wray with Kash Patel.
FBI Director Christopher Wray plans to resign at the end of the Biden administration, as President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Wray told bureau employees on Wednesday.
“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, according to prepared remarks. “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. 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 has already said he will nominate Kash Patel for the position of FBI director, which typically is for a 10-year term, part of a post-Watergate reform intended to make FBI directors less beholden to the whims of presidents.
A senior FBI official told NBC News that the current plan is for Christopher Wray to stay on as FBI director until Jan. 20, when the new administration takes over.
After that, current FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate will be named acting director and will stay on until a new FBI director is confirmed.
Trump indicated in a recent interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that he wasn’t “thrilled” with Wray, saying that Wray “invaded Mar-a-Lago” — a reference to the 2022 FBI search for classified documents that led to Trump’s 2023 indictment on seven criminal charges — and that he wanted someone in place to “straighten” out the bureau.
“I mean, it would sort of seem pretty obvious that if Kash gets in, he’s going to be taking somebody’s place, right?” Trump said, responding to a question about whether he would fire Wray if he didn’t resign on his own.
Wray, a Republican, was appointed by Trump in 2017 after the then-president fired James Comey as FBI director. Comey’s departure sparked the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election. Under normal protocol, Wray’s term would expire in 2027, although Mueller is the only person to have served a full term as FBI director since the 10-year post-Watergate norm was put in place. Only two FBI directors (including Comey) have been pushed out.
