FBI Director Christopher Wray resigns before Trump takes office

2024-12-11 21:32:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Christopher Wray

Christopher Wray, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is resigning from his post before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.

Wray announced his impending departure at an internal FBI meeting. President-elect Donald Trump has publicly signaled his desire to replace Mr Wray with Kash Patel, a longtime loyalist who has called for "dramatic" curtailment of the FBI's authority.

Wray, who was appointed by Trump in 2017 to serve a 10-year term, has faced criticism during his tenure from Republicans over the FBI's investigation into Trump after he left office.

"After weeks of careful thought, I have decided that the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve through the end of the current administration in January and then step down," Way said.

"My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the essential work you're doing every day on behalf of the American people," he told his colleagues.

"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 the way we do our work," Mr. Wray said.

He also addressed the FBI's mission in his remarks, saying the bureau's goal of "keeping Americans safe and upholding the constitution" will not change.

Mr Trump appointed Mr Wray to lead the FBI after firing his predecessor James Comey following the FBI's investigations into alleged contacts between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.

But in recent years, Mr. Wray has fallen out of favor with the president-elect after the FBI helped with a federal investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents, a case that has since been dropped.

After his election to a second term, Trump said his pick for FBI director would be Patel — a former aide who has been a staunch supporter of the incoming Republican president. /CNA