WASHINGTON — Andrew Bailey, one of the FBI’s two deputy directors, announced Monday that he was leaving the position after just over a year on the job and would be returning to Missouri to spend time with his family.
Bailey was named co-deputy director in August 2025 to serve alongside Dan Bongino at a time of high tensions between FBI and Justice Department leadership over the handling of the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The appointment was unusual because the FBI for years has only had one person at a time in the deputy director position, the bureau’s No. 2 job.
A former attorney general from Missouri and ardent Republican backer of President Trump, Bailey remained in his position after Bongino announced his departure and as the FBI in January added another deputy director, veteran agent Christopher Raia, to serve under Director Kash Patel.
Bailey announced his resignation from the FBI in a post on X on Monday in which he thanked Trump, Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche and Patel for “the opportunity to serve in the FBI.”
“With great pride in what we have accomplished, I am announcing that I am stepping down to return to my family in Missouri. I am confident Director Patel will continue to reform the FBI, combat violent crime, defend the homeland, ensure strong organizational accountability, and restore public trust in this institution of excellence,” Bailey wrote.
Patel in his own post credited him for “dedicated service” and for “instituting critical reforms.”
Bailey maintained a low public profile during his brief tenure as deputy director, though he was present in January when agents executed a search warrant at the main election facility in Fulton County, Ga., as part of an FBI election fraud investigation.
Tucker writes for the Associated Press.
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