FBI Director Christopher Wray has told agency employees that he is resigning.
Wray was nominated by then President, now President-elect Donald Trump in 2017 to replace James Comey, whom Trump had fired, The Associated Press reported.
He was confirmed by the Senate 92-5, The Washington Post reported. During the confirmation hearing and while he was head of the agency, Wray said he would not pledge his loyalty to Trump. Trump said during his 2020 campaign that Wray didn’t help enough and thought about firing him then. The FBI ended up investigating Trump’s handling of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump told “Meet the Press, “I can’t say I’m thrilled with him. He invaded my home,” in reference to the search of Mar-a-Lago, the AP reported.
Trump is setting up his cabinet and filling appointments for his new administration and had already selected loyalist Kash Patel to replace Wray before Wray’s 10-year term came to an end, The New York Times reported. Wray has served seven years of the decade-long term, The Washington Post reported.
Wray told employees on Wednesday, “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.”
He announced his resignation during a town hall meeting, the AP reported.
The FBI has 35,000 employees, The Washington Post reported.
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