FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was forced to step down before the end of his term due to a “no confidence” vote from President-elect Donald Trump, delivered a farewell speech on January 10, emphasizing the importance of the FBI’s impartiality and independence. Wray stated, “We must maintain our independence and objectivity, and we must transcend partisanship and politics,” underscoring that this is what the American people expect and deserve from the FBI. He also highlighted the agency’s core principles of “professionalism, rigor, and integrity,” adding, “That means following the facts, wherever they lead, whether people like them or not.”
Wray, who became FBI director in August 2017 during Trump’s first term, had more than two and a half years left on his 10-year term but announced his resignation after receiving what was essentially a “vote of no confidence” from Trump following his 2020 election victory. Trump had signalled that he intended to replace Wray with a “loyalist” in the wake of the FBI’s investigation into the illegal storage and export of classified materials, which included the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
Director Wray’s resignation came after a period of tension between him and Trump, and his decision to step down voluntarily rather than wait for a potential dismissal was widely seen as a response to the strained relationship between the two. Wray’s successor, Kathy Patel, has generated controversy due to her claims that the 2020 presidential election was a “fraud” and her warning that she would “retaliate” against journalists who she believes aided President Joe Biden in winning the election, should Trump be re-elected.