Trump Wants FBI Director Wray Out, To Nominate Kash Patel

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Trump loyalist Kash Patel, who served in several roles during the first Trump term, is reportedly the president-elect’s preference to head up the FBI.

Washington Post:

This pick — which cannot happen unless Trump fires Wray or the FBI director steps down before the end of his 10-year term — comes as the president-elect has rolled out appointments and proposed nominations that appear aimed at putting his political allies in key positions where officials and agencies had contradicted or angered him in the past.

The FBI has long been a target of Trump’s anger. While in office and afterward, Trump derided the country’s premier law enforcement agency as “badly broken” and said it “lost the confidence of America.” Trump has also singled out Wray, whom he picked to be the FBI director during his first term, for criticism over the years.

FBI directors typically have 10-year tenures, unique among appointments in the executive branch. That span, which extends beyond two consecutive presidential terms, was imposed in 1976 as a post-Watergate government reform effort.

“Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump wrote on social media Saturday night.

Trump has repeatedly taken aim at norms and institutions during his political career, and his Saturday night announcement that he intends to replace an FBI director who has three years left in their tenure is the latest example.

Some of his efforts have been unsuccessful. Trump initially sought to nominate former congressman Matt Gaetz, a Trump ally and fervent critic of the Justice Department, to serve as attorney general. Gaetz withdrew from contention amid allegations that he had paid women, as well as a 17-year-old girl, for sex. Trump then said he would instead nominate Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general. In his statement Saturday evening, Trump said Patel would work with Bondi to “bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI.”

By selecting Patel, Trump is seeking to replace Wray with a vociferous defender who has echoed his criticisms of what both men call the “deep state” and spoken approvingly of the need for retribution against perceived enemies. Patel’s name had also been floated as a possible pick to lead the CIA in a second Trump administration, but the president-elect selected John Ratcliffe instead.

The FBI in a statement Saturday evening did not address whether Wray plans to step down from his position.