FBI Director Wray confirms he will resign before Trump's inauguration

FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed Wednesday that he will be resigning from his post before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20.

Wray announced he will resign just seven years into his 10-year term in the aftermath of external pressure for him to step down, most notably from Trump. Trump has instead decided to nominate Kash Patel for the role, indicating to Wray that he would either have to resign early or be fired.

'It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway — this is not easy for me.'

"My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work," Wray said.

“It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway — this is not easy for me," he continued. "I love this place, I love our mission, and I love our people — but my focus is, and always has been, on us and doing what’s right for the FBI."

Trump nominated Wray to take over as FBI director in 2017 during his first presidential term. At the time, Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey after he launched the now-debunked investigation into the Russia hoax in 2016.

Wray was confirmed overwhelmingly by the Senate in 2017, but this time around, Trump's nominees may have a harder time.

Patel himself has taken to the Hill this week to meet with senators and to lock down the votes for his confirmation. Other Trump nominees, most notably Pete Hegseth, who was nominated to head the Department of Defense, have faced their fair share of scrutiny and pushback from establishment Republicans in the Senate.

Trump's nominees like Patel and Hegseth can afford to lose only three votes from Republicans, assuming that Vice President-elect JD Vance participates in the vote as a tiebreaker.

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