In surprise move, Trump taps Missouri attorney general to help run FBI

By Devlin Barrett and Maggie Haberman

The Trump administration said earlier this week that it had tapped Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to be a deputy director of the FBI, in what many rank-and-file agents described as a surprising arrangement.

Bailey would join the current deputy director, Dan Bongino, who as a popular right-wing podcast host repeatedly railed against the bureau, in overseeing the day-to-day operations of the agency. Since taking the post — a sprawling task that includes overseeing dozens of field offices around the country, as well as personnel assigned around the world — Bongino has vocally complained about the toll the job has taken on him.

“Thrilled to welcome Andrew Bailey as our new FBI co-deputy director,” Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, wrote on social media. “As Missouri’s attorney general, he took on the swamp, fought weaponized government and defended the Constitution. Now he is bringing that fight to DOJ.”

The move was reported earlier by Fox News Digital, prompting a one-word response from Bongino on social media. “Welcome,” he wrote, followed by a trio of American flag emojis.

Trump once briefly considered nominating Bailey to be attorney general, and during the transition discussed selecting him to be FBI director. But the president, who likes aggressive personalities, found him too laid back and somewhat lackluster, according to people briefed on the meetings at the time.

It remains to be seen what Bailey’s hiring means for Bongino, whose future has appeared tenuous after a furious fight with Attorney General Pam Bondi spilled into public view in July. He and Bondi had an angry confrontation in the White House in front of top aides over unreleased files in the case of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, and over whether Bongino was leaking information to the news media.

For a few days after the dispute, it was unclear whether Bongino would return to work. He ultimately did, though he has kept a considerably lower profile since. People close to Trump were unhappy with Bongino’s display of anger, but believed that having him leave his job could undermine the president.

The appointment of Bailey bewildered many current and former FBI agents, who said they had never heard of a co-deputy director.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that Bailey would “be an integral part of this important mission,” and that the nation’s premier law enforcement agency would work to “accomplish the goals set forth when an overwhelming majority of American people elected President Donald J. Trump again.”

Trump has a tendency to appoint one person to multiple high-level positions, as well as task multiple people with the same role. Bailey is expected to leave his role as Missouri’s attorney general, and his likely replacement is Catherine Hanaway, a former federal prosecutor in the state, according to two people briefed on the matter. Hanaway did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Bailey, a Republican, has been an active ally of Trump’s, and veterans of his office have taken significant roles in the administration, including D. John Sauer, who now serves as the solicitor general of the United States, overseeing the Trump administration’s arguments before the Supreme Court.

Despite his bombastic attacks on Democrats, Bailey is a more conventional choice for the role than Bongino was, given his time in government.