In a sudden move just hours before President Donald Trump was formally sworn into office on Monday, FBI Director Paul Abbate announced his immediate retirement.
Abbate’s unexpected decision to step down came after former FBI Director Christopher Wray, appointed by Trump during his first term, resigned over the weekend.
Wray’s resignation was seemingly expected, given that Trump had previously signaled that he would appoint Kash Patel, a former senior official in the Trump administration, as the new permanent acting FBI director. However, Abbate’s retirement left the FBI in a state of uncertainty, according to Fox News, as he was assumed to serve as the Bureau’s interim head until Patel’s confirmation.
Instead, on Inauguration Day, Trump appointed Brian Driscoll in place of Abbate as the acting director of the FBI, making it one of his first actions following the swearing-in. Driscoll is expected to serve as the acting director until the Senate confirms Patel as the new permanent director.
“I am proud to announce that Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel will serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People,” Trump wrote in a recent statement.
“He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution,” he added.
In an email obtained by The New York Times on Monday morning, Abbate tried to explain his decision to step down so suddenly to senior FBI officials.
“When the director asked me to stay on past my mandatory date for a brief time, I did so to help ensure continuity and the best transition for the F.B.I. Now, with new leadership inbound, after nearly four years in the deputy role, I am departing the F.B.I.,” Abbate wrote in the email.
Abbate, who spent 28 years with the FBI, had been the agency’s Deputy Director since 2021.
The timing of Abbate’s departure, just before Trump’s inauguration, has raised some eyebrows across Washington. Under Abbate’s leadership, the FBI had been involved in several controversial investigations, including direct investigations into Trump.
Earlier this month, Trump posted a scalding statement against the FBI and other adjacent government agencies.
“The DOJ, FBI, and Democrat state and local prosecutors have not done their job. They are incompetent and corrupt, having spent all of their waking hours unlawfully attacking their political opponent, ME, rather than focusing on protecting Americans from the outside and inside violent SCUM that has infiltrated all aspects of our government, and our Nation itself,” the President posted to X on January 2.