Christopher Wray is taking the easy way out.
The conservative Republican announced Wednesday that he would end his 10-year term as FBI director three years early, essentially bowing to political pressure from President-elect Donald Trump.
Bowing to political pressure is precisely what FBI directors are not supposed to do.
Bowing to political pressure is precisely what FBI directors are not supposed to do.
Trump’s intense displeasure with Wray has been on full display for years, most recently on Sunday, when in an exclusive interview with host Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he falsely claimed that Wray “invaded my home” and that “crime is at an all-time high.” Violent crime is near record lows, and a court authorized the FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate because he retained and refused to return reams of classified documents he was not entitled to still have in his possession. The search is one of many grievances Trump had about the FBI during Wray’s tenure.
So Wray, Trump’s own pick to lead the FBI, had two choices: resign before Trump takes office again or stay until Trump fired him.
He should have chosen the second, more principled path.
But Wray chose against being a profile in courage. He folded instead of defending the FBI’s honor and its staunchly nonpartisan record over the last seven years. Instead of showing the country what it means to swear an oath to a country — and not a person— he did exactly what a would-be autocrat wants: He obeyed in advance.
Wray’s resignation deprives the country of a conversation that would be sure to happen if Trump were to follow through on his threat and fire the apolitical FBI director. His firing would have arrested the nation’s attention and forced Trump to defend replacing a dyed-in-the-wool constitutionalist with Kash Patel, an unrepentant Trump loyalist, as head of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency. Wray’s departure is now wrapped in the frame of the normal comings-and-goings of presidential administrations. Normal is the operative word here. Wray is helping normalize Trump’s way of governing.
In all candor, I understand why Wray is leaving. No one wants to endure a firestorm of Trump falsehoods, which will surely escalate in frequency and fervor as Inauguration Day approaches. I can only imagine how painful it would be for Wray’s family to watch the most powerful person in the world try to destroy the reputation of the father and husband who has served his country honorably for decades.
But Christopher Wray volunteered to be FBI director. He knew the assignment and history — Trump fired the last FBI director. And Wray promised the country not to let politics guide his actions: “If I am given the honor of leading this agency, I will never allow the FBI’s work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period. Full stop,” he said in his confirmation hearing. And yet here we are, watching him make decisions driven by Trump’s political grievances and his stated desire to use the federal law enforcement apparatus to go after his perceived political enemies. With this resignation, Wray has joined a long list of conservatives who bended a knee to Trump, like those 43 senators who in 2021 refused to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial for inciting an insurrection or those five Supreme Court justices who ruled that presidents have absolute immunity for official acts committed as president, and presumptive immunity for official acts within the outer perimeter of their office; or those senators currently considering Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, someone who is still embracing Trump’s big lie that he won the 2020 election. In normal times, election denialism — refuted by more than 60 court rulings — would be disqualifying for the nation’s would-be chief law enforcement officer. With this resignation, Wray has joined a long list of conservatives who bended a knee to Trump. Trump has clearly learned a fundamental truth about Washington: People are policy. In his first term, Trump appointed conservative Republicans like Wray to high government positions. Thankfully, when it mattered most, many of these conservatives resisted Trump’s worst instincts and put their oath to the Constitution before their loyalty to him. Trump 2.0 will be different. With Wray’s imminent resignation, the country is witnessing the latest episode in the systematic unraveling of the rule of law. By bowing to Trump instead of standing up to him, Wray is teaching others to give in to Trump’s erratic behavior and lies and making it even easier for Trump to install a loyalist who may put Trump’s interests ahead of those of the nation.
Anthony Coley
Anthony Coley is a legal analyst for NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC. He was director of the Justice Department’s office of public affairs from February 2021 until January 2023. 
