Speaking at an FBI meeting on Wednesday, Wray said: “After weeks of careful consideration, I have decided that it is the right thing for the bureau for me to serve until the end of the current administration’s term in January and then step down.”
“My goal is to focus on our mission — the indispensable work you do every day on behalf of the American people,” he told his colleagues.
“In my view, this is the best way to avoid drawing the bureau into fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to our work,” Ray said.
In his speech, he also addressed the FBI’s mission, saying the bureau’s goal “to keep Americans safe and uphold the constitution” will not change.
Trump appointed Wray to head the FBI after firing his predecessor, James Comey, following an FBI investigation alleged contacts between the Trump campaign in 2016 and Russia.
In nominating him, Trump said Wray — a Yale Law graduate — was a man of “impeccable credentials.”
But in recent years, Wray has fallen out of favor with the president-elect after the FBI helped lead a federal investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents. a case that has since been dropped.
Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the case and said the investigation was politically motivated.
After his second term, Trump said his nominee for FBI director would be Patel, a former aide who has been a staunch supporter of the incoming Republican president.
Patel said Wednesday that he is “looking forward to a smooth transition and I’ll be ready on day one.”
Trump called Ray’s resignation “a great day for America.”
“This will put an end to the weaponization of what has come to be known as the Department of Injustice,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Patel requires Senate approval before he can be appointed.
He was seen by some as a divisive figure because of his harsh criticism of the FBI. In his memoir, Government Gangsters, Patel called for rooting out what he called “state tyranny” at the FBI by firing “the highest ranks.”
However, some Republican lawmakers welcomed Patel’s nomination.
“There are serious problems at the FBI,” said Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee.
“The American public knows it. They want big change, and Cash Patel is just the man to do it.”
