FBI director Christopher Wray, who has come under attack from President-elect Donald Trump in the past few years, told FBI employees at a meeting Wednesday that he would resign by the end of the Biden administration, NBC News reports.
“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” he told employees. “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 had been reportedly expected to step down before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Last month, Trump said he wanted MAGA loyalist Kash Patel to lead the agency under his second term, which would require Wray to resign or be fired.
Wray told employees that the decision was “not easy” but that he was focused on “doing what’s right for the FBI.”
“When you look at where the threats are headed, it’s clear that the importance of our work — keeping Americans safe and upholding the Constitution — will not change,” he said. “And what absolutely cannot, must not change is our commitment to doing the right thing, the right way, every time.”
Nominated by Trump to lead the agency in 2017, Wray still had three years left in his 10-year term, had he remained in Trump’s good graces. But the FBI’s role in Trump’s criminal cases provoked the president-elect’s ire, leading to him making unfounded accusations that federal law enforcement was being weaponized against him.
In a recent interview with NBC News, Trump said that he was not “thrilled” with Wray. “He invaded my home. I’m suing the country over it. He invaded Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said. “I’m very unhappy with the things he’s done, and crime is at an all-time high.” Many Republican lawmakers have echoed Trump’s attacks on the FBI — and Wray in particular — as they’ve sought to paint the president-elect as a victim of a politicized justice system. On Monday, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the incoming Senate judiciary chair, urged Wray to step down in a letter, saying he had a “vote of no confidence” in him. In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump called Wray’s impending resignation “a great day for America” and once again aired his grievances about the FBI’s investigations into his alleged criminal conduct. He also praised Patel, who has little relevant experience in running a federal law enforcement agency, as “the most qualified Nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency’s History.” “We want our FBI back,” Trump wrote, “and that will now happen.”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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