Update 1:08 PM CST:
FBI Director Christopher Wray has resigned from his post on Wednesday following reports he was planning to step down ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
“He was seven years into his 10-year term. Realistically he had two options. Wait to be fired by President-elect Donald Trump because Trump announced Kash Patel would take over, or bow out before. He has chosen to bow out before,” Fox News Justice correspondent David Spunt reported.
🚨 BREAKING: FBI Director Christopher Wray has resigned: pic.twitter.com/shKOhbp24F
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) December 11, 2024
Wray said in a prepared statement released by the FBI press office, “After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current Administration in January and then step down.”
“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. 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.”
Trump celebrated Wray’s resignation on Truth Social as a “great day for America” and said he’s looking forward to Patel’s confirmation as the new FBI Director.
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.
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. 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. They want to see these changes every bit as much as I do but, more importantly, the American People are demanding a strong, but fair, System of Justice. We want our FBI back, and that will now happen. I look forward to Kash Patel’s confirmation, so that the process of Making the FBI Great Again can begin. Thank you!
Original story below:
FBI Director Wray Preparing to Resign Ahead of Trump Taking Office
FBI Director Christopher Wray is planning to resign on or before President-elect Trump is inaugurated on January 20, according to reports.
Wray is preparing to resign because he doesn’t want to get fired by Trump, inside sources told The Washington Times on Monday.
“He’s going to be gone at the inauguration. On or before the inauguration,” a source said.
At that point, Deputy Director Paul Abbate will become acting director and appoint an acting deputy director.
This comes as Trump’s replacement FBI Director pick Kash Patel is meeting with Republican senators on Capitol Hill this week.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who will become chairman of the Judiciary Committee next month, sent a scathing letter to Wray on Monday calling for him to step down before his 10-year term is up, citing the bureau’s politicized weaponization against Trump under Wray’s leadership.
“For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives,” Grassley wrote to Wray. “I therefore must express my vote of no confidence in your continued leadership of the FBI.”
Reform is badly needed at the FBI
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) December 9, 2024
It’s time 2 shake things up pic.twitter.com/w9FxE9yS9d
“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,” he concluded.
Trump likewise voiced his disappointment in Wray for overseeing the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago in 2022 and falsely claiming he may have been hit with shrapnel when he was shot in the ear by a would-be assassin during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
“He invaded my home. I’m suing the country over it. He invaded Mar-a-Lago. I’m very unhappy with the things he’s done,” Trump told NBC News host Kristen Welker on Sunday. “And crime is at an all-time high. Migrants are pouring into the country that are from prisons and from mental institutions, as we’ve discussed. I can’t say I’m thrilled. I don’t want to, again, I don’t want to be Joe Biden and give you an answer and then do the exact opposite.”
NBC: Will you fire Christopher Wray?
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) December 8, 2024
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "It would sort of seem pretty obvious that if @Kash_Patel gets in, he's going to be taking somebody's place, right? That somebody is the man you're talking about." pic.twitter.com/dYQwfx5l5O
“What I’m going to say is, I certainly can not be happy with him. Take a look at what’s happened. And then when I was shot in the ear, he said, maybe it was shrapnel,” Trump continued. “Where’s the shrapnel coming from? Is it coming from heaven? I don’t think so. So we need somebody to – you know, I have a lot of respect for the FBI. But the FBI’s respect has gone way down over the last number of years.”
Welker asked, “Don’t you have to fire him to make room for Kash Patel if he is in fact confirmed?”
“It would sort of seem pretty obvious that if Kash gets in, he’ll be taking somebody’s place and that somebody is the man you’re talking about,” Trump replied.