Christopher Wray to resign as FBI head by Inauguration Day: report

FBI Director Christopher Wray is reportedly planning to resign on or before Inauguration Day, when Trump will begin his second White House term. This comes as Trump has nominated Kash Patel to head the agency under his forthcoming administration.

Sources inside the FBI familiar with Wray’s thinking reportedly told the Washington Times that the current FBI head is quitting because he doesn’t want to get fired by Trump. One source said, "He’s going to be gone at the inauguration. On or before the inauguration." After Wray departs from the bureau, Deputy Director Paul Abbate will become acting director and will appoint an acting deputy director.

On Monday, Senator Chuck Grassley sent a letter to Wray expressing a vote of "no confidence" in Wray and 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 took aim at the FBI raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in the letter, along with other concerns in the 11-page letter, writing, "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."

The senator later added, "This raid occurred despite serious questions about the need for it," noting that "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."

Grassley met with Patel on Monday, saying in a statement, "Transparency ought to be the North Star of government. Over the past several years, that principle has been thrown out the window of the J. Edgar Hoover Building’s seventh floor. Today I reminded Kash that transparency brings accountability, and it’s badly needed at the FBI. As a former congressional investigator himself, Kash understands that cooperation with Congress is not optional and whistleblower protection is essential. Once formally nominated, I’d look forward to holding a hearing on Kash’s nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee."