The appointment of Dan Bongino as deputy director of the F.B.I. marks a stunning break from tradition, placing a right-wing firebrand in a role historically held by veteran agents.
Dan Bongino, a former New York City police officer and Secret Service agent turned conservative commentator and podcaster, has been tapped for the No. 2 spot at the nation’s top law enforcement agency. President Trump made the announcement Sunday night, underscoring a dramatic shift in the bureau’s leadership.
Trump revealed on his social media platform that newly appointed F.B.I. Director Kash Patel had selected Bongino for the role. Because the deputy director position does not require Senate confirmation, the move ensures that two staunch Trump loyalists now sit atop an agency long known for its independence.
The decision immediately ignited tensions within the bureau. Just an hour before the announcement, the F.B.I. Agents Association had informed its members that Patel privately acknowledged the deputy role should go to an experienced agent. The selection of Bongino, an outsider with no direct F.B.I. experience, has only deepened concerns among career agents.
The F.B.I. declined to comment on the appointment.
In a social media post Monday, Bongino praised bureau staffers as “dedicated people” who “deserve leadership that will back them up, protect their mission, and ensure they can do their jobs.” He added: “I’m here to work. I’m here to lead. And I’m here to ensure that America’s law enforcement institutions uphold the values and integrity they were built upon.”
Traditionally, F.B.I. directors have selected seasoned agents to oversee operations, ensuring expertise in navigating complex investigations and international partnerships. Bongino’s appointment represents a radical departure from this norm, raising concerns over how he and Patel—neither of whom have served as F.B.I. agents—will wield the bureau’s expansive surveillance and investigative powers.
The duo now forms the least experienced leadership team in the agency’s history, fueling skepticism over their ability to uphold the bureau’s independence. Both men have championed partisan narratives and spread misinformation, making their stewardship of the 38,000-person, $11 billion agency a point of intense scrutiny.
“My entire life right now is about owning the libs,” Bongino declared in 2018, a sentiment that aligns with his history of attacking what he calls the “deep state.” His rise comes amid turmoil at the bureau, as the Justice Department has ousted several veteran executives who collectively carried decades of institutional knowledge.
The status of interim leaders Brian Driscoll and Robert C. Kissane—who served as acting director and deputy director before Patel’s confirmation—remains uncertain. Their refusal to comply with the Justice Department’s request for the names of agents involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot investigation earned them respect within the bureau for resisting perceived political interference.
Many had hoped they would stay to stabilize the agency’s leadership.
In an internal memo distributed before Trump’s announcement, Natalie Bara, president of the F.B.I. Agents Association, emphasized that Patel had assured her the deputy director should be an active, career special agent. That precedent, upheld for 117 years, was widely seen as a safeguard for the agency’s credibility.
Yet Patel ultimately selected Bongino, a move that has left bureau insiders uneasy. While it remains unclear whether Trump directly influenced the pick, Patel’s preference for Bongino was long rumored.
Bongino, who ran for office three times before gaining prominence as a right-wing media personality, left Fox News in 2023 after a high-profile tenure. His fiery rhetoric and embrace of conspiracy theories have made him a favorite among Trump’s base. He has repeatedly spread misinformation, including false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, that masks are ineffective against COVID-19, and that Democrats orchestrated a plot to spy on Trump’s 2016 campaign.
His appointment raises pressing questions about how the F.B.I. will maintain its credibility under a leadership team known for partisan leanings. As Patel put it in a recent email to bureau staff: “I will always have your backs, because you have the backs of the American people.”
With Bongino at his side, the F.B.I.’s future has never been more uncertain