The acting director of the FBI is retiring after Wray’s departure, minutes before Trump’s inauguration
The Acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Paul Abbate, had reportedly retired just minutes before Donald Trump he was sworn in as the 47th president.
Former FBI Director Christopher Wray announced on December 11 that would step down from the office before Trump took office, and Wray’s resignation took effect Sunday.
Abbate, who took over from Wray, stepped down from office just a day later, the New York Times reported.
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FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate prepares to testify before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary, Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committees on July 30, 2024, in Washington. (Michael A. McCoy for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
His departure took effect at noon ET on Monday, around the same time Trump was scheduled to be sworn in at the U.S. Capitol. It was not immediately clear who would replace Abbate acting director of the FBI.
“When the director asked me to stay on for a short time past my mandatory date, I did so to help ensure continuity and the best transition for the FBI. Now, with new leadership, after nearly four years in the deputy role, I am leaving the FBI myself,” Abbate wrote in in an internal email on Monday, according to the New York Times. “I have complete confidence in you and your ability to continue as a team to carry out our mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution.”
Then-FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks at Attorney General Merrick Garland’s farewell ceremony at the Department of Justice on January 16, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In 2021, Wray selected Abbate to be deputy director of the FBI and extended his tenure. At 57, Abbate is the mandatory retirement age for some FBI agents, the New York Times reports.
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Trump appointed Wray to lead the office in 2017, but relations between the two have soured amid repeated federal investigations into the 45th and now 47th president. FBI broke into Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, in August 2022.
Trump denounced the “weaponization” of the Justice Department during his 2024 presidential campaign, and has since appointed Kash Patel to lead the FBI. A Senate confirmation hearing for Patel has not yet been scheduled.
Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president in the US Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool via REUTERS)
“The scales of justice will rebalance,” Trump said in his inaugural address. “The vicious, violent and dishonest arming of the Department of Justice and our government will stop.”
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI for comment.
