Days after Trump loyalist Kash Patel was narrowly confirmed as FBI Director by the Senate, President Donald Trump announced on Sunday the installment of right-wing pundit and MAGA conspiracy theorist Dan Bongino as deputy FBI director, the position responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations at the FBI.
The announcement of Trump ally Bongino as number two at the bureau is the latest instance of the country’s top law enforcement agency rooting out resistors to the White House’s interference at the Department of Justice, and replacing them with MAGA devotees committed to Trump’s agenda.
In a post announcing Bongino’s appointment on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump described the MAGA media personality as “a man of incredible love and passion for our Country.”
“He was a member of the New York Police Department (New York’s Finest!), a highly respected Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, and is now one of the most successful Podcasters in the Country, something he is willing and prepared to give up in order to serve. Working with our great new United States Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and Director Patel, Fairness, Justice, Law and Order will be brought back to America, and quickly. Congratulations Dan!” Trump wrote.
Patel, according to reporting from CNN, had initially told allies that he would most likely permanently install acting deputy director of the FBI Robert Kissane, along with acting director Brian Driscoll. But, because both men resisted an order from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to provide names of agents involved in the January 6 investigations, Bongino was floated instead.
The choice has only further cemented fears that the bureau, under Patel’s leadership, will function as an extension of the White House, primarily focused on rooting out Trump enemies from within the Justice Department and using the bureau to go after his perceived political foes.
The FBI deputy director position does not require Senate confirmation, is not decided by the president, and is typically given to a career agent within the bureau, which Bongino is not. Bongino is a former secret service agent and NYPD officer with a long history of propagating conspiracy theories about COVID-19, January 6, and the integrity of the 2020 election, among other things.
Bongino has also been a vocal critic of the FBI and has repeatedly promoted the baseless conspiracy theory on his podcast that the FBI was somehow involved in the planting of pipe bombs outside of the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee ahead of the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
This latest announcement comes against the backdrop of Patel’s confirmation as FBI Director, despite his public acknowledgement of his commitment to Trump’s retribution agenda. Patel has been vocal about going after Trump’s perceived enemies, including naming a list of enemies in his 2023 book and vowing to go after “conspirators” in both the government and media.
Patel has also been accused of covertly orchestrating a purge within the FBI as a civilian.
