FBI Names Second Deputy Director as More Top Agents Are Let Go
In an unusual move, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is bringing on a second deputy director to serve alongside current Deputy Director Dan Bongino.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel announced that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey will serve as co-deputy director of the FBI. The deputy director historically manages the bureau’s day-to-day operations. It is not immediately clear how Bongino and Bailey will split the duties.
“(Andrew Bailey’s) leadership and commitment to country will be a tremendous asset as we work together to advance President Trump’s mission,” said Attorney General Bondi.
"My life has been defined by a call to service, and I am once again answering that call, this time at the national level," wrote Bailey.
Bailey’s hiring comes after a rift developed between Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Director Bongino over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, with Bongino protesting the AG’s decision not to release additional files. Deputy Director Bongino, formerly a Fox News pundit and right-wing podcaster, has also taken to the airwaves to complain about the position.
“People ask me all the time, ‘Do you like it?’ I say, ‘No, I don’t,” stated Deputy Director Bongino.
For his part, Bailey is no stranger to the Trump team. He interviewed for the Attorney General job during the Trump transition. As Missouri Attorney General he worked to advance cases aligned with President Trump’s interest such as filing a long-shot petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to lift the gag order against the president and delay his New York sentencing.
FBI Firings
The turmoil at the top of the agency comes as senior FBI agents are fired. Among those let go is Brian Driscoll, who briefly served as acting director after President Trump took over. Driscoll made news when he resisted a Department of Justice directive to turn over a list of agents who had worked on cases tied to the January 6, 2021, riots.
Also let go was Steve Jensen, assistant director in charge of the Washington field office, who also played a key role in January 6 investigations.
In a statement, the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA) expressed dismay over the dozens of firings of top FBI agents since President Trump took power.
“If these Agents are fired without due process, it makes the American people less safe. Agents need to be focused on their work and not on potentially being illegally fired based on their assignments,” said FBIAA in a statement.
Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked the DOJ Acting Inspector General to investigate the purge of senior FBI executives, special agents in charge, and other supervisory agents, and the disparate impact on personnel who are women or persons of color.
“These shortsighted and politically motivated personnel decisions have significantly destabilized the Bureau, harmed our public safety apparatus, and made Americans less safe,” wrote Senator Durbin.