In a move that’s already stirring up controversy in legal and political circles, Andrew Bailey, the outgoing Missouri attorney general, has been appointed co-deputy director of the FBI, sharing the position with Dan Bongino, a figure well-known for his conservative commentary and past service in the Secret Service. The appointment, announced Monday, August 18, 2025, marks a significant departure from tradition: neither Bailey nor Bongino has ever worked for the FBI before, a break from the bureau’s longstanding practice of promoting career officials to its top ranks. The decision comes as the FBI and the Justice Department face mounting political and legal pressures, both internally and from the White House.
Bailey’s new role at the FBI is the latest twist in a career marked by aggressive legal battles over some of the country’s most contentious issues. As Missouri’s top prosecutor, Bailey built a reputation as a fierce advocate for conservative causes, challenging everything from abortion rights to Big Tech regulation and student loan forgiveness. According to The Hill, “As Missouri’s Attorney General, he took on the swamp, fought weaponized government, and defended the Constitution,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously represented President Trump in the Manhattan hush money case. “Now he is bringing that fight to DOJ.”
Bailey’s legal crusades have often placed him at the center of the national debate over reproductive rights. Just this past March, he subpoenaed the Missouri Abortion Fund, a nonprofit that helps residents afford abortion care, seeking records about minors seeking abortions and communications with Planned Parenthood Great Plains. The move was linked to a 2024 lawsuit in which Bailey accused Planned Parenthood Great Plains of “trafficking” minors across state lines for abortions without parental consent—a claim that stemmed from an undercover video produced by Project Veritas, a group known for its controversial tactics and heavily edited recordings. Planned Parenthood called the scenario “fictitious” and argued the video was misleading; nevertheless, the court denied their motion to dismiss, and the nonprofit has since filed a counterclaim.
The subpoena itself was met with immediate resistance. Elad Gross, an attorney for the Missouri Abortion Fund, described Bailey’s efforts as “an abuse of government power” and a “fishing expedition,” as reported by the Missouri Independent. In a legal filing, Gross argued that the attorney general’s demand for records from a non-party to the case violated the right to reproductive freedom. The judge overseeing the case temporarily blocked the subpoena in April 2025, putting Bailey’s aggressive tactics on hold—at least for now.
Bailey’s campaign against reproductive rights groups hasn’t stopped at the state line. In July 2025, he took his fight national by suing Planned Parenthood Federation of America, alleging the organization spread misinformation about the safety of mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortions. This lawsuit came amid a broader push by anti-abortion activists to question the safety of mifepristone, citing a report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center—a right-wing think tank—that claimed serious complications from the drug were vastly underreported. Critics have derided the report as “bogus,” but the legal and political battle over mifepristone continues to escalate.
Bailey’s appointment to the FBI also comes against the backdrop of ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to target Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health providers. A provision in President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” would have stripped Medicaid funds from nonprofits receiving more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023, including Planned Parenthood and a network of Maine clinics. That effort was blocked by a federal judge in July 2025, who ordered the government to continue reimbursing Planned Parenthood with Medicaid funds.
But Bailey’s portfolio isn’t limited to reproductive rights. He’s also tangled with the federal government over issues of free speech and technology. In 2024, Bailey led a lawsuit against the Biden administration, alleging that federal officials violated the First Amendment by pressuring social media platforms to remove posts deemed false or misleading. The Supreme Court ultimately denied Bailey’s challenge, finding he lacked legal standing, but the case left unresolved questions about the extent of government influence over online speech.
Bailey has also been a vocal defender of President Trump. After Trump’s conviction last year on 34 counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan, Bailey sued New York, arguing the prosecution infringed on the rights of Missouri voters. He even petitioned the Supreme Court to block Trump’s sentencing and a gag order until after the 2024 election, but the justices rejected his plea. Bailey’s willingness to go to bat for Trump has not gone unnoticed; it’s likely a significant factor in his new appointment.
The creation of the co-deputy director role at the FBI is itself noteworthy, as it appears to dilute Bongino’s previously singular authority. Bongino, who was appointed sole deputy FBI director in February 2025 after a long career in law enforcement and right-wing media, has faced his own set of challenges. According to The Hill, tensions have mounted within the administration over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. After the Justice Department issued a memo confirming Epstein’s death by suicide and denying the existence of a client list, Bongino reportedly erupted, even considering resignation over the issue. President Trump has publicly maintained his confidence in Bongino, but the appointment of Bailey as co-deputy director suggests a shift in the internal dynamics at the top of the FBI.
Bongino’s path to the FBI has been unconventional, to say the least. His career began in the New York Police Department in 1995, followed by a stint in the Secret Service, where he served under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. After leaving the Secret Service, Bongino ran several unsuccessful political campaigns before reinventing himself as a right-wing podcaster and commentator. Despite his lack of FBI experience, he was tapped for leadership by the Trump administration, reflecting the president’s preference for loyalists over traditional career officials.
Bailey’s and Bongino’s simultaneous appointments break with decades of FBI tradition. Historically, the bureau’s top leadership has been drawn from within its own ranks, emphasizing continuity and institutional knowledge. The decision to install two outsiders—each with strong political allegiances and no prior FBI experience—has raised eyebrows among current and former law enforcement officials. The move is widely seen as part of President Trump’s broader effort to reshape the Justice Department and federal law enforcement in his own image, often by bringing in trusted political allies from outside the agencies they’re tasked to lead.
As the dust settles on Bailey’s appointment, questions abound about how responsibilities will be divided between the two co-deputy directors, and what this means for the future direction of the FBI. With both men having built their careers on challenging the status quo—albeit from different corners of the conservative movement—their tenure is likely to be anything but dull. For now, the only certainty is that the nation’s top law enforcement agency is entering uncharted territory, with major implications for the battles ahead over civil liberties, reproductive rights, and the rule of law.
