Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI) Dan Bongino announced his resignation and will leave office in January 2026. The information was published by him on his X account on December 17 (US time), along with a thank you to President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and the American people for giving him the opportunity to serve.
President Trump confirmed this information when responding to reporters. He assessed Mr. Bongino as having completed his tasks well and thought that the FBI Deputy Director could return to the political podcast program he led when he joined the government.
Bongino's future has been uncertain since July, when the US Department of Justice announced it would not release additional documents related to investigations into billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, according to the US press. After that, President Trump directed the release of the document to avoid public dissemination from other government achievements in the first year of his term.
Some sources said Bongino has been gradually moving his office belongings, despite continuing to work at the FBI headquarters in recent days. A TV station reported that Deputy Director Andrew Bailey, appointed since September, will take over the job and report directly to FBI Patel Director.
Bongino was a surprising choice when President Trump appointed him as deputy director of the FBI in February. Although he was a police officer and worked for the Secret Service, he has no experience working in the FBI or managing this agency. According to the FBI special services Association, for decades, the position of deputy director has been almost always taken up by senior internal agents.
Before joining the FBI, Bongino was widely known as a right-wing podcast host, with a large audience and was considered a familiar voice of the group of voters supporting President Trump.
