money FBI Director Chris Wray will reportedly keep his job under Biden
FBI Director Chris Wray is staying on the job, CNN and NBC News report.
While White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki declined to disclose Wray's fate at her first press conference Wednesday night, sources tell CNN and NBC News that President Biden will keep him on the job. The decision comes even after law enforcement failed to intercept a mob of Trump supporters' plans to attack the Capitol building earlier this month.
Former President Donald Trump appointed Wray to his post after firing former FBI Director James Comey. Trump had reportedly been considering firing Wray in the last month of his presidency, but was advised against doing so because an acting replacement or Biden nominee might target him. The New York Times' Maggie Haberman reported in the weeks before the inauguration Biden's team was planning to keep Wray unless he was fired.
CNN's legal correspondent deemed Biden's decision the "right call," even though the FBI head ended up "disappearing a bit these last two weeks" after the Capitol attack. FBI directors are appointed for 10-year terms, and are meant to outlast presidents so partisanship doesn't influence their work.
The FBI director term is 10 yrs because it’s designed to extend beyond the appointing president. This is the right call even without considering Wray’s performance (which, except for disappearing a bit these last two weeks has been pretty darn good given the challenges he faced). https://t.co/O7jZYOriiC
— Jennifer Rodgers (@JenGRodgers) January 21, 2021
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