FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and conservative media figure, has announced his resignation effective January 2026, ending a notably brief and eventful tenure as the bureau’s second-highest-ranking official. Bongino’s decision, confirmed in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on December 17, 2025, marks one of the most high-profile departures during President Donald Trump’s second administration and comes amid ongoing turbulence at the FBI’s upper echelons.
Bongino, who was appointed by President Trump in early 2025 and assumed office in March of that year, was an unconventional pick for the critical role of deputy director. Traditionally, the position is filled by a career FBI agent with deep institutional knowledge. Neither Bongino nor his boss, FBI Director Kash Patel, had any prior experience at the bureau before their appointments, a fact that drew both curiosity and criticism from observers inside and outside law enforcement. As reported by NPR, Bongino did bring prior law enforcement experience as a police officer and Secret Service agent, and he was already well known for his outspoken support of Trump and his prominence as a far-right podcaster.
In his resignation statement, Bongino expressed gratitude to his political patrons, writing, “Thank you to President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose.” The post did not specify his exact departure date or outline his future plans, but speculation quickly mounted that Bongino intends to return to his media career, where he can comment freely on government matters without the constraints of a federal post.
President Trump himself hinted at this possibility in remarks to reporters on December 17, stating, “Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show,” as quoted by FOX News. Both Attorney General Pam Bondi and Director Patel publicly credited Bongino for his service, with Bondi posting that Americans were safer because of his work and Patel praising him for having “exceeded his mission.”
Bongino’s time at the FBI was anything but uneventful. According to NBC and NPR, his tenure was marked by internal conflicts and public controversy. In July 2025, reports surfaced of a heated confrontation between Bongino and Attorney General Bondi over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, a politically charged issue that had dogged the Trump administration for years. Bongino’s frustration with what he viewed as bureaucratic reluctance to release information about Epstein reportedly contributed to his decision to step down. The Justice Department has since begun publishing documents from the Epstein files, a move required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated that all unclassified materials related to Epstein’s life, criminal activities, and death be made publicly available by December 19, 2025.
Bongino’s critics often pointed to his history of promoting conspiracy theories about the FBI and his embrace of the narrative that the bureau had been “weaponized” against conservatives. He had even referred to FBI agents as “thugs” in his previous podcasting career, according to NPR. Despite these views, Bongino found himself at the center of the very institution he once criticized, overseeing its day-to-day affairs and, at times, its most sensitive investigations.
His tenure was not without operational achievements. Earlier in December 2025, Bongino played a role in the arrest of a suspect accused of placing two pipe bombs near the Democratic and Republican committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021—the day of the assault on the U.S. Capitol. This high-profile case, which had remained unsolved for years, was seen as a significant success for the bureau under his leadership.
In an unusual administrative arrangement, Bongino shared the deputy director role with Andrew Bailey, a former attorney general of Missouri, beginning in the summer of 2025. The Trump administration’s decision to appoint two co-deputy directors—neither of whom had previous FBI experience—was widely viewed as a break from precedent and a reflection of the administration’s desire to reshape the agency’s culture and priorities.
Bongino’s departure comes at a moment of broader upheaval within the FBI. The bureau has faced ongoing criticism from both political parties, with Director Patel himself under fire for the firing of several career agents and for his handling of politically sensitive investigations. The release of the Epstein files, in particular, has fueled partisan tensions. President Trump, who has been both a subject and a proponent of conspiracy theories related to Epstein, initially resisted calls for transparency before ultimately signing the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act. The law required Attorney General Bondi to publish all unclassified records related to Epstein and his associates, including documents about plea deals, decisions not to charge Epstein for additional alleged crimes, and records pertaining to his 2019 death in federal custody.
The files, now being released in batches, have already exposed a trove of communications between Epstein and a host of influential figures in politics, academia, and business. These include emails and texts with former Harvard president Larry Summers, linguist Noam Chomsky, and former White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler. Trump’s own name appears hundreds of times, often as the subject of Epstein’s musings about the political landscape. In one 2017 email to Summers, Epstein wrote, “I have met some very bad people, none as bad as Trump. Not one decent cell in his body.” Trump has consistently denied any meaningful connection to Epstein, dismissing a lewd drawing and signature found among the files as “fake.”
The release of these documents has already had tangible effects, with several prominent individuals resigning from high-profile positions in academia and business as their connections to Epstein come under renewed scrutiny. The Justice Department has indicated that more documents will be released in the coming weeks, though some materials—particularly those involving minors or active investigations—will remain withheld or redacted.
As Bongino prepares to exit the FBI, the agency faces a period of uncertainty. His supporters credit him with bringing needed change and a fresh perspective to an institution under siege, while his detractors argue that his lack of experience and confrontational style exacerbated existing tensions. Whether Bongino’s return to the media sphere will further inflame these debates remains to be seen, but his brief stint as deputy director has left an indelible mark on the bureau’s history.
Bongino’s resignation closes a tumultuous chapter at the FBI, but the issues that defined his tenure—political polarization, demands for transparency, and the agency’s struggle to maintain public trust—are far from resolved.