WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Wednesday that he will resign when President Joe Biden’s term ends in January. The announcement comes a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump nominated his loyal ally Kash Patel for the position.
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In a public hearing with FBI employees, Wray said he will resign and that he made the decision after "weeks of careful reflection", three years before completing a 10-year term marked by high-profile and politically charged investigations, including the one that resulted in two separate indictments against Trump last year.
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Why does Trump want another director for the FBI?
The resignation intention is not unexpected considering that Trump had decided to appoint Patel as director and had repeatedly expressed his irritation towards Wray, including in a televised interview broadcast on Sunday.
By deciding to resign instead of waiting to be fired, Wray tries to avoid a clash with the new Trump administration that, he said, would have further involved the FBI "in the dispute."
“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission, which is the essential work you are doing on behalf of the American people every day,” Wray told FBI employees. “In my opinion, this is the best way to prevent dragging the bureau further into the dispute, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we carry out our work.”
Wray was appointed by Trump and began the 10-year term —a duration intended to insulate the FBI from the political influence of administration changes— in 2017, after the Republican president fired then-FBI Director James Comey.
Why doesn't Trump like Wray at the FBI?
Trump had expressed his anger towards Wray on multiple occasions. He said in a recent interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" that "I can't say that he fascinates me. He invaded my home," referring to the raid of his property in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, two years ago by the FBI, in search of classified documents from Trump's first presidential term.
Wray, who usually speaks softly, rarely seemed to have the intention of publicly confronting the president.