What happened
President-elect Donald Trump said late Saturday he plans to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray with Kash Patel, a staunch loyalist who has said he would dismantle the “deep state” and pursue Trump’s vowed retribution against perceived enemies in law enforcement, government and journalism. Wray, appointed by Trump 2017, has three years left in his 10-year term.
Who said what
Patel “did an incredible job during my first term,” Trump said on social media, and would “bring back Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity to the FBI.” The 44-year-old former federal prosecutor served in senior national security roles in Trump’s first administration, to mixed reviews. Former Attorney General William Barr blocked Trump from making Patel deputy FBI director, writing in his memoir that choosing such an unqualified person for that role “showed a shocking detachment from reality.”
“Even among Trump loyalists,” Patel is “widely viewed as a controversial figure and relentless self-promoter,” CNN said. Some of Trump’s top advisers “warned him” against picking Patel as FBI chief, The Wall Street Journal said. But Trump “ignored those aides” and chose “one of his most loyal foot soldiers” to “remake” America’s “premier” law-enforcement agency “more fully into an arm of his agenda.”
What next?
Wray could resign or “be fired once Trump takes office in January,” The Associated Press said, but either way, his “days are numbered” as FBI chief. Patel is “likely to face tough questions” at his Senate confirmation hearings “about whether the agency would remain free from political interference,” The New York Times said.