At Least Six Senior FBI Leaders Ordered to Retire, Resign, or Be Fired
At least six senior FBI leaders have been ordered to retire, resign, or be fired by Monday, according to sources briefed on the matter. The senior officials, who oversee cyber, national security, and criminal investigations, were notified while Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency, sat answering questions from senators for his confirmation hearing.
The leadership changes have drawn internal consternation, as these officials did not have anything to do with prosecutions of Donald Trump, which have been the focus of the president’s ire. The personnel moves come as hundreds of FBI agents who were assigned to investigate the January 6 US Capitol attack and Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents are bracing for the possibility that they could be forced out or punished, similar to what has happened to dozens of career Justice Department lawyers.
The changes highlight how the new administration has moved quickly to deliver on Trump’s vow to strike back at so-called weaponization at the FBI. Trump has falsely accused agents of abuse in their court-ordered search of his Mar-a-Lago home and of their treatment of Capitol rioters.
Some agents say the criticism belies the fact that FBI agents and supervisors can’t choose which assignments they are given as part of their job. The FBI workforce is broadly conservative, and many agents initially had qualms about being assigned to the Capitol attack and Trump cases, viewing the prosecutions as heavy-handed.
The FBI Agents Association officials met with FBI director nominee Kash Patel in recent weeks to raise those concerns, urging him to protect agents who did their work investigating violent crimes with oversight from judges, FBI supervisors, and Justice Department lawyers. Patel listened but offered no reassurances.
During his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Patel said he doesn’t know of any upcoming personnel plans. He rejected accusations from Democrats that he would exact retribution against political enemies and said he would make sure the FBI is “de-weaponized.”
Agents who carried out the Mar-a-Lago search in the Trump classified documents case have already faced threats after their names were made public by Trump supporters on social media. The anxiety inside the FBI is fueled by some of the early moves inside the bureau that began even before Trump’s inauguration.