Trump picked Christopher Wray to lead the FBI in 2017, then soured on him before leaving office. Trump would have to fire Wray — or Wray would have to resign — for Patel to take over the bureau.
By Mark Berman, The Washington PostKash Patel speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at the Findlay Toyota Arena Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Prescott Valley, Ariz.
Because FBI directors typically have 10-year tenures - unique among appointments in the executive branch - Trump would have to fire Wray, or Wray would have to quit, for Patel to take over the bureau. That 10-year service, which extends beyond two consecutive presidential terms, was imposed in 1976 as a post-Watergate government reform effort. The position also requires Senate confirmation.
Asked about former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe saying no part of the FBI would be “safe” with Patel in a leadership role at the agency, Patel said those accusations were baseless. He also advised then-Rep. Devin Nunes while the congressman was a fierce critic of the investigation into whether Trump’s 2016 campaign coordinated with Russian meddling in that year’s presidential election. Later, after Trump left office, Patel appeared before a grand jury amid an investigation into Trump’s handling of classified materials.
Trump selected Wray, who had been a senior Justice Department official under President George W. Bush, to lead the bureau as his replacement. He soon soured on Wray, complaining about the FBI director’s support for the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, among other things. In 2020, while running for reelection, Trump complained that the FBI director was not doing enough to help his campaign and weighed firing Wray.
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