Getty ImagesFederal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray has said he will step down before President-elect Donald Trump, who has indicated he would fire him, takes office next month.
Wray announced at an internal FBI meeting Wednesday that he had decided to step aside after weeks of consideration.
Trump has already nominated Kash Patel, who has called for “dramatically” limiting the FBI’s authority, to lead the law enforcement agency.
Wray, who Trump nominated in 2017 to a 10-year term, has faced criticism from Republicans during his tenure over FBI investigations into the former president after he left office.
Speaking at the FBI meeting Wednesday, Wray said, “I have decided that the right thing for the agency is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down.”
“In my view, this is the best way to avoid drawing the agency deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work,” Wray added.
He received a standing ovation after his remarks, with some in the audience crying, an unnamed official told The Associated Press.
Trump appointed Wray to investigate the FBI firing his predecessor James Comey after the FBI’s investigations regarding alleged contacts between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.
When Trump nominated him, he said Wray – a Yale Law School graduate – was a man of “impeccable credentials”.
But in recent years, Wray has fallen out of favor with the president-elect after the FBI assisted with a federal investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents, a case that has since been dropped.
Trump said Wray’s resignation was “a great day for America.”
“It will end the weaponization of what has become known as America’s Department of Injustice,” he said on Truth Social. “We will now restore the rule of law to all Americans.”
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 Republican president-elect.
Getty ImagesOn Wednesday, Patel said he is “looking forward to a smooth transition and I will be ready to go on day one”.
“Senators have been wonderful and I look forward to earning their trust and confidence through the advice and consent process and restoring law and order and integrity to the FBI,” he said.
Patel requires Senate approval before he can be appointed. Meanwhile, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, a veteran FBI agent, will lead the bureau after Wray’s departure, the BBC’s US partner CBS News reported.
Patel has been a fierce critic of the FBI. In his memoir, Government Gangsters, Patel called for an eradication of “government tyranny” within the FBI by firing “the upper ranks”.
Patel’s critics have expressed doubts that he is qualified to lead one of the world’s leading law enforcement agencies.
However, some Republican lawmakers have welcomed his nomination.
“Reform is sorely needed at the FBI,” Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa wrote on X following the news of Wray’s resignation, adding that the American people deserve transparency and accountability.
Wray has vehemently denied that he allowed a Democratic partisan agenda to run wild as FBI director, telling lawmakers a year ago at a House hearing that he had been a lifelong Republican.
“The idea that I’m biased against conservatives seems kind of insane to me, given my own personal background,” he said.
US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, a Democrat, responded to Wray’s resignation by thanking him for his service and saying the FBI “will soon enter a dangerous new era with serious questions about its future.”
Wray was also praised by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who said in a statement that he had “served our country honorably and with integrity for decades, including seven years as director of the FBI under presidents of both parties.”
The FBIAA, the association that represents the agency’s agents, said Wray led them “through challenging times with a constant focus on doing the work that keeps our country safe.”
FBI directors are appointed to 10-year terms — a length chosen to survive political turnover in the White House every four years, and therefore apparent partisanship.
Wray’s term was not due to expire until 2027. Trump would not have been able to appoint Patel, his choice, without firing Wray or having him voluntarily resign.