FBI Director Christopher Wray to Step Down, Paving Way for Kash Patel

FBI director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on Dec. 5, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

FBI Director Christopher Wray is going to resign soon, the bureau said on Dec. 11, paving the way for President-elect Donald Trump’s next nominee for the position.

Wray, 57, told FBI employees during a town hall that he will step down when the current administration ends in January 2025, an FBI spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

“After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down,” Wray told the employees.

“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission—the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. 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 how we do our work.”

Wray is currently serving a 10-year term that started in 2017.

Trump nominated Wray during his first term in office. President Joe Biden opted to keep Wray in place during his term.

Trump has nominated Kash Patel, a former federal prosecutor, to be FBI director once he enters office again on Jan. 20, 2025.

FBI directors require Senate confirmation.

Trump celebrated Wray’s decision to resign, saying it will end what he described as the weaponization of the Justice Department.

“We want our FBI back, and that will now happen,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, while calling for Patel’s confirmation.

Patel also responded to the news, telling reporters on Capitol Hill, “We look forward to a very smooth transition at the FBI and I'll be ready to go on day one.”

Patel, 44, worked as a public defender after graduating from law school. In 2014, he transitioned into a federal prosecutor role.

During Trump’s first term, Patel helped the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee to compile evidence showing that the FBI did not act properly when it investigated former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Special counsel John Durham later found that FBI agents were motivated by confirmation bias in the probe, which did not establish coordination between the campaign and Russia.

Patel later worked for the White House National Security Council. In 2020, he worked in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. And during the final months of Trump’s first term, he was the chief of staff to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.

Trump said when announcing his choice to lead the FBI, “Kash will work under our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI.”

Patel told The Epoch Times after being selected, “We will restore integrity, accountability, and equal justice to our justice system and return the FBI to its rightful mission: protecting the American people.”

Wray clerked for a federal judge after graduating from Yale Law School. He went on to serve as a federal prosecutor before being appointed to head the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division under President George W. Bush.

The FBI in 2022 executed a search warrant on Trump’s home in Florida, in one of two federal cases brought against the former president. Trump said he did nothing wrong. Prosecutors closed the cases after Trump won the November election.

Trump and many other Republicans have repeatedly criticized the FBI, alleging that its actions have been fueled by partisanship.

Wray told a House panel in 2023 that he has been a Republican his whole life and has not acted with bias.

“The idea that I am biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background,” he said at the time.

Reuters contributed to this report.