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.
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.
The hits just keep on coming….and all because of butt hurt over the price of eggs.Report
Nope. It was a rejection of your fascist lawfare and a return to normalcy,Report
34 guilty verdicts in a New York Court say otherwise.Report
That case was a joke and would have been overturned on appeal once it came for before a real judge. I’m sure it was a total coincidence that it took place six months before the election.
Thankfully, your will to power fascist lawfare was rejected.Report
More like someone being miffed about being the butt of a joke about his net worth.Report
That is the origin story no one remembers . . .Report
The problem with the Hunter pardon is that it just feeds all of the conspiracy theories that something like this is necessary.Report
something like what exactly?Report
You must be new around here.Report
Something like Kash Patel’s nomination.
You know, the thing that the original post is about? You can scroll up and read it, if you want.Report
Right, because making the FBI ACTUALLY Partisan and loyal to a single president is a way to solve PERCEPTIONS of the FBI being partisan and loyal to a single President.Report
He did say it’s a conspiracy theory.Report