Overview
- Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel announced that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey will serve alongside Deputy Director Dan Bongino, in a move first reported by Fox News Digital.
- Bailey will resign as Missouri attorney general effective September 8 to take the role, which does not require Senate confirmation.
- This appears to be the first time the FBI has installed two deputy directors, and officials have not detailed how Bailey and Bongino will split day-to-day responsibilities.
- The decision follows a July rift over the handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related files, after which Bongino briefly stepped back from work; he publicly welcomed Bailey’s selection.
- Bondi and Patel praised Bailey’s record, while reporting notes concern among career agents and continuing uncertainty about Bongino’s long‑term status in the role.