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Indian-American Kash Patel to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray? Here is what we know about Trump's new dream team
Kash Patel, an aide to President-elect Donald Trump, is expected to succeed FBI director Christopher Wray after January 20, claimed Steve Bannon.
Kash Patel, an aide to President-elect Donald Trump, is expected to succeed FBI director Christopher Wray after January 20, claimed former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
According to Bannon, the current FBI boss, who was hired for a 10-year term, may step down or be asked to leave. It was Trump who hired Wray for the job in 2017. However, a lot has changed in the past seven years, including his harsh criticism of his own appointee. This indicates that it is more likely that Wray's time is running out and that he will either be replaced or quit on his own to escape termination.
Bannon's remarks follow an NBC News report that stated Wray, who likes to be in charge of the FBI and planned to finish his term, is getting ready for the possibility. Earlier in April, he told the network that he was “enjoying doing this job”.
“As long as I think I can do that in a way that adheres to all those rules and norms, I’d like to keep doing it,” he stated.
Donald Trump snubs Kash Patel to name ex-US Spy John Ratcliffe as CIA Director
Patel, a former National Security Council staffer, lost his bid for the position of the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to ultra-conservative Texas senator John Ratcliffe.
Patel, the son of Indian immigrants and the author of a book about the so-called “deep state”, held important roles at the Defense Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in the last months of the previous Trump administration.
He has advocated for a “comprehensive housecleaning” of the FBI and Justice Department in his memoir Government Gangsters.
According to the Associated Press report, it will be unusual to replace Wray before the conclusion of his 10-year term, which is meant to shield the FBI from the impact of presidential politics. In doing so, Trump will have the opportunity to remake the FBI's management in its favour at a time when he faces threats from his own political rivals.
