Acting FBI director retires after Wray departure, minutes before Trump sworn in

Acting FBI director retires after Wray departure, minutes before Trump sworn in

The acting director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Paul Abbate, reportedly retired just minutes before Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president.

Former FBI Director Christopher Wray announced on Dec. 11 that he would step down from the bureau before Trump took office, and Wray’s resignation went into effect Sunday.

Abbate, who took the helm from Wray, stepped down from the bureau just a day later, the New York Times reported.

His departure took effect at noon ET Monday, around the same time Trump was slated to take his oath of office at the U.S. Capitol. It was not immediately clear who will replace Abbate as acting FBI director.

“When the director asked me to stay on past my mandatory date for a brief time, I did so to help ensure continuity and the best transition for the F.B.I. Now, with new leadership inbound, after nearly four years in the deputy role, I am departing the F.B.I.,” Abbate wrote in an internal email on Monday, according to the New York Times. “I have complete confidence in you and in your ability as a team to continue to carry out our mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution.”

Wray selected Abbate as deputy FBI director in 2021 and extended his length of service. At 57, Abbate is the mandatory retirement age for some FBI agents, according to the New York Times.

Trump appointed Wray to lead the bureau in 2017, but relations between the two soured amid repeated federal investigations into the 45th and now-47th president. The FBI raided Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, in August 2022.

Trump decried the “weaponization” of the Justice Department during his 2024 presidential campaign, and he has since tapped Kash Patel to lead the FBI. Patel’s Senate confirmation hearing has not yet been scheduled.

“The scales of justice will be rebalanced,” Trump said in his inauguration speech. “The vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end.”