FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino says he’ll resign from the bureau next month, ending a brief tenure.

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Wednesday that he will resign from the bureau next month, ending a brief and tumultuous tenure in which he clashed with the Justice Department over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and was forced to reconcile the realities of his law enforcement job with provocative claims he made in his prior role as a popular podcast host.

The departure would be among the highest-profile resignations of the Trump administration, coming as the firing of career agents has contributed to upheaval at the FBI and as Director Kash Patel faces continued criticism over his use of a government plane for personal purposes and social media posts about active investigations.

Bongino announced his departure, which had been expected, in a post on X in which he said he was grateful for the “opportunity to serve with purpose.” He did not say precisely when in January he would leave or reveal his future plans, but President Donald Trump, in response to a question earlier in the day about Bongino’s fate, said: “Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show.”

Bongino was always an unconventional pick for the No. 2 job at the FBI, a position that historically has entailed oversight of the bureau’s day-to-day operations and has been typically held by a career agent. Though he had previously worked as a New York City police officer and Secret Service agent, neither he nor Patel had any experience at the FBI before being picked for their jobs. But both came in pledging overhauls to an FBI they insisted had been weaponized against Trump.

    • Basic Glitch@sh.itjust.works
      10·
      2 days ago

      Do you know why they would fire him?

      He did seem legit shaken up by whatever was in the Epstein files when he first found out, so probably not unrelated to that? But also why the delay. What changed between then and now?

      • Archangel1313@lemmy.ca
        15·
        2 days ago

        There are rumors going around that both him and Kash Patel are about to get fired. Not sure why, specifically…but I would assume it’s because of the Epstein files.

        I think the delay would only be because firing Bongino right after his reaction to the files not being released, would have been too obvious for even the Trump administration to shrug off, given all the other negative coverage that decision generated. Bongino himself is actually quite popular in MAGA circles. They consider him to be generally sincere. Tossing him out at that point, would have burned a lot of bridges. That’s also why I think he’s “resigning”, instead of getting fired. He’s taking one for the team.

        Kash Patel on the other hand, is just incompetent…and the longer he stays in his position, the more obvious that becomes. His expiry date is almost due. It’s time to toss a fresh shill in the pot, before the broth gets spoiled.