FBI Director Christopher Wray walks into a secure information area ahead of a closed-door security meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 25, 2024.
Tom Brenner | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that he will resign by the end of the Biden administration next month.
Wray’s announcement at a town hall for agency employees clears the way for President-elect Donald Trump to install a new head of the FBI without having to fire Wray or demand his resignation.
Trump in November announced his intention to nominate Kash Patel as FBI director. Patel is a former federal prosecutor and a Trump loyalist who has been critical of the FBI.
Wray, whose office has a 10-year term, has been director since August 2017. Trump, who was president at that time, nominated him to the post after firing James Comey as director.
Since then, Wray has drawn Trump’s ire for the FBI’s role in criminal investigations of Trump for his efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election and for his retention of classified government documents after leaving the White House.
“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,” Wray said Wednesday, according to prepared remarks released by the FBI’s press office.
“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” Wray said.
“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,” the director said.
