Christopher Wray is resigning as FBI director, multiple news outlets are reporting.
Wray, who President Donald Trump appointed in 2017, had three years left in his term. However, the move isn’t as a surprise as now President-elect Trump announced he would nominate Kash Patel to be the new FBI director.
Trump happily accepted the news in a Truth Social post.
“The resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice. I just don’t know what happened to him. We will now restore the Rule of Law for all Americans,” Trump stated.
“Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America,” Trump added. “They have used their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans, some of which will never be able to recover from what has been done to them. Kash Patel is the most qualified Nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency’s History, and is committed to helping ensure that Law, Order, and Justice will be brought back to our Country again, and soon. As everyone knows, I have great respect for the rank-and-file of the FBI, and they have great respect for me.”
The FBI Agents Association President Natalie Bara thanked Wray for his support of special agents and leadership, and “welcomes the opportunity to meet with President-elect Trump’s team.”
“Director Wray has led the bureau through challenging times with a steady focus on doing the work that keeps our country safe,” Bara said in public statement. “FBI Special Agents will always be focused on our vital mission—protecting this great nation, safeguarding communities and upholding the U.S. Constitution.”
Wray presided over the FBI’s raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in 2022. He also butted heads with Republicans in Congress–including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio—over the bureau’s monitoring of traditional Catholics as well as parents speaking at public school board meetings.
On Monday, Grassley wrote a letter to Wray about the bureau’s many failures. This included a failure to investigate potential corruption of President Joe Biden and his family; and refusing to provide information to Congress about conduct at the FBI.
“These failures are serious enough and their pattern widespread enough to have shattered my confidence in your leadership and the confidence and hope many others in Congress placed in you,” Grassley wrote to Wray.
Wray has reportedly said he would resign before Trump takes office.
Under Wray’s watch, the FBI faced numerous controversies.
This included alleged targeting of FBI whistleblowers, who are supposed to have legal protection. Earlier this year, the FBI reinstated bureau employee Marcus Allen and agreed to back pay after initially placing him on a two-year unpaid suspension and revoking his security clearance. Allen had challenged Wray’s narrative on the Jan. 6, 2021, protest.
Also during Wray’s tenure, the FBI raided the home of pro-life activist Mark Houck.
The House Judiciary’s Select Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government released a report last year about an FBI Richmond field office memo that suggested infiltrating the churches of “radical traditional Catholics” for “threat mitigation.”
The FBI also investigated 25 parents who spoke at public school board meetings, according to the subcommittee’s findings.
On Wednesday, The Heritage Foundation posted on X that Wray was “one of the worst FBI Directors in American history.”
“His tenure is defined by the blatant weaponization of the FBI against Americans to suppress free speech and religious liberty, intimidate and harass law-abiding Americans for dissenting political opinions, and abusing FISA surveillance to spy on law-abiding Americans,” the Heritage post says.
This is a breaking news article and it will be updated.
