The FBI Agents Association, which represents many of the bureau’s agents, had earlier written to its members claiming it had won Patel’s agreement that his deputy director “should continue to be an on-board, active Special Agent as has been the case for 117 years for many compelling reasons, including operational expertise and experience, as well as the trust of our Special Agent population”.
Gregg Nunziata, a Republican and former general counsel to Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, warned that Bongino was a more extreme appointment than Patel – who has portrayed the bureau as an arm of a so-called “deep state” dedicated to undermining Trump and has vowed to turn its Washington headquarters into a museum.
Fears over the future direction of the FBI have intensified after Donald Trump announced that a far-right podcaster, Dan Bongino, who has never served in the bureau, would become its next deputy director.
“Donald Trump just named far-right MAGA podcaster Dan Bongino, a notorious conspiracy theorist who promoted the lie that the 2020 election was ‘stolen,’ to serve as Deputy Director of the FBI.
Bongino’s installation raises uncertainty about the fate of the two senior bureau agents Brian Driscoll and Robert Kissane, who filled the positions of acting director and acting deputy while Patel awaited confirmation.
