BREAKING: Christopher Wray resigns as FBI Director

FBI Director Christopher Wray resigned on Wednesday during an all-hands staff town hall, Fox News reported, where thousands of agents were in attendance. He had been rumored to have plans to resign ahead of Inauguration Day, when Donald Trump will become the 47th president. Trump nominated Kash Patel to head the agency during his second term.

Per the Washington Times, Wray resigned to avoid getting fired. He has been appointed by Trump during his first term. Deputy Director Paul Abbate will become acting director and will appoint an acting deputy director until a new director is confirmed.

Wray was a former prosecutor who was hired in 2017 after James Comey was fired. In 2022, Wray angered Trump when the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago during the classified documents case brought against him by President Joe Biden's Department of Justice. Trump was not at home at the time, but has mantained his anger at his home being raided in service to what he saw as a bogus case. The case was dismissed by federal Judge Aileen Cannon.

Trump maintains that the President Records Act allows presidents to take documents with them when they leave office. Biden was not prosecuted for retaining classified documents, despite his keeping them at several different locations, including his garage, and having absconded with them after his time in the senate and as vice president—neither position is backed by the Act.

On Monday, Senator Chuck Grassley indicated in a letter that he had "no confidence" in Wray or Abbate. "For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives. I therefore must express my vote of no confidence in your continued leadership of the FBI," Grassley wrote. "President-elect Trump has already announced his intention to nominate a candidate to replace you, and the Senate will carefully consider that choice. For my part, I’ve also seen enough, and hope your respective successors will learn from these failures."

Grassley also had concerns over the raid, saying "President Trump has been subjected to a continuing double standard, an area where your failed tenure is consistent with your predecessor’s. While the FBI under your leadership turned a blind eye to information contained in the FD-1023 that was prejudicial to President Biden, FBI agents conducted an unprecedented raid of President Trump’s home in Florida to serve a warrant for records."

"This raid occurred despite serious questions about the need for it," Grassley went on to say. "No such raid took place at Hillary Clinton’s premises, even though she and her staff mishandled highly classified information while using a non-government server after repeated warnings from State Department security personnel it was a security risk, and despite the fact her associates destroyed potentially-incriminating evidence."

Patel is seen to have wide support in the Senate and is expected to be confirmed once the hearings begin.