It has been a busy couple of days at the FBI, as a recent appointment by President Donald Trump gives the agency its third head in less than 48 hours. The appointment comes after the FBI’s acting director unexpectedly retired Monday, Jan. 20.
Brian Driscoll, recently appointed head of the FBI’s field office in Newark, New Jersey, will now run the agency on an interim basis, according to an announcement by the Trump administration on Monday.
Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee to the role, resigned Sunday, Jan. 19, following through on his pledge to leave his post before the president returned to office.
Under Wray’s leadership, the FBI conducted investigations into Trump, including a 2022 court-approved search for classified documents that involved agents entering Trump’s house at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Wray’s resignation paved the way for Deputy Director Paul Abbate to run the bureau on an acting basis. However, Abbate unexpectedly announced his retirement Monday morning before Trump took office. That allowed the Trump administration to select Driscoll as interim director.
President Trump nominated former National Security Council staffer Kash Patel to head the agency, which requires Senate confirmation. Patel has pledged to remove most senior FBI leadership, accusing them of weaponizing its powers against Trump.
Patel has also actively promoted the pro-Trump conspiracy theory QAnon, signing copies of a children’s book he wrote about a character named “King Donald” with QAnon’s motto beside his autograph.
