Dan Bongino has announced he will resign as deputy director of the FBI next month.
President Trump said the former Fox News host, who he picked in February to be second-in-command to work alongside bureau director Kash Patel, “did a great job” but believes “he wants to go back to his show”.
Mr Bongino hosted a prominent right-wing podcast before joining the FBI.
His departure from the bureau marks an end to an unorthodox appointment, one that broke the longstanding tradition of having someone with direct FBI experience in the role.
So, who is Mr Bongino, what was his time at the FBI like, and what did Donald Trump say when he originally appointed him?
From law enforcement to political commentary
Mr Bongino, 51, worked for the New York Police Department for several years in the 1990s before joining the Secret Service as an agent, serving on the presidential details for then-presidents Barack Obama and George Bush.
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Dan Bongino, controversial FBI deputy director, to resign next month
He began doing commentary on Fox News more than a decade ago, and had a Saturday night show with the network from 2021 to 2023.
His appointment, which did not need to be confirmed by the Senate, meant he was one of nearly two dozen former Fox News personnel to join the second Trump administration.
He also ventured into politics several times, having run for a US Senate seat in Maryland in 2012 and for congressional seats in 2014 and 2016 in Maryland and Florida. He ultimately lost the three races.
His most recent success came through his podcast, The Dan Bongino Show, which Spotify said was one of the most popular on the platform. It was also broadcast on the streaming service Rumble.
Bongino helped pedal pro-Trump narratives
He became one of the leading personalities in the Make America Great Again political movement, which spread false information about the 2020 election, making unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud.
He was among the Trump loyalists who perpetuated conspiracies regarding the 2022 FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago property for classified documents, suggesting it was an attempt by then-president Joe Biden’s administration to assassinate Mr Trump.
“EVERYONE involved in this DOJ/FBI abomination, from the management down to the agents, must be immediately terminated when the tyrants are thrown out of office,” Mr Bongino said in a social media post at the time.
During an interview last year, Mr Bongino urged Mr Trump to commit to forming a commission to reform the Secret Service, calling it a “failed” agency and criticising it for the two assassination attempts aimed at him last year.
“That guy should have been nowhere near you,” Mr Bongino said about the man who authorities say camped outside Mr Trump’s golf course in Florida before he was spotted with a rifle.
Criticised FBI over pipe bomb claims
Mr Bongino had also advanced baseless theories about the FBI, including a claim at the start of the year that the bureau lied when it announced it still had not identified a suspect in the placement of pipe bombs outside of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Democratic National Committee (DNC) a day before the January 6th Capitol riot in 2021.
He called the bureau’s inability to provide a name or other identifying information for the suspect “the biggest scandal of our time”.
NBC News reported earlier in December that Brian Cole Jr was arrested and charged in connection with the pipe bomb incident nearly five years ago.
US attorney general Pam Bondi said at that time that investigators and prosecutors made the arrest after “sifting through evidence that had been sitting at the FBI”.
But Mr Bongino said as recently as 2024 that the pipe bombs were either an “inside job” or the work of a “connected anti-Trump insider” and said the truth was shielded by a “massive cover-up”.
He also added in an earlier podcast episode: “If the video (of the suspect) has been sitting in the FBI evidence locker for four years now, it’s almost like someone in the FBI knows the identity of this bomber and that Trump is going to find out.”
In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News in December, the deputy director was asked about his previous remarks, and said: “I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions, that’s clear.
“One day, I’ll be back in that space but that’s not what I’m paid for now. I’m paid to be your deputy director, and we base investigations on facts.”
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Disagreed with Bondi over Epstein files
Before becoming deputy director of the FBI, Mr Bongino also claimed that Jeffrey Epstein had not taken his own life in a New York jail soon after his 2019 arrest, and claimed there was a cover-up regarding the Epstein files.
After his arrival in the bureau, he said in a Fox News interview: “I’ve seen the whole file. He killed himself.”
Mr Bongino’s position came under question after the FBI and Department of Justice announced in July that they would not be releasing any additional records from the Epstein investigation, despite earlier promises to release all files.
Sky’s US partner NBC News reported that month that Mr Bongino had a confrontation with Ms Bondi over how her department handled the Epstein files, and was considering resigning.
A source told the broadcaster: “Bongino is out of control furious. This destroyed his career. He’s threatening to quit and torch Pam unless she’s fired.”
After months of pressure and repeated attacks on Democrats and Republicans calling for the files to be made public, Mr Trump signed the Epstein Transparency Act in November.
Trump praised Bongino’s ‘incredible love and passion’
When confirming the appointment, Mr Trump wrote that Mr Bongino was “a man of incredible love and passion for our Country”.
Responding to the post on X, where Mr Bongino has some 7.2 million followers, the incoming deputy FBI director thanked the president, along with Ms Bondi and Mr Patel.
Almost a year later, Mr Trump was again complimentary of his appointment, saying when asked about reports Mr Bongino would resign: “Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show.”
The FBI director called his deputy “the best partner I could’ve asked for in helping restore this FBI,” praising his work on reforms, a summer crackdown on violent crime, and the 2021 pipe bomb investigation.
“He not only completed his mission – he far exceeded it,” he added. “We will miss him but I’m thankful he accepted the call to serve. Our country is better and safer for it.”
Lack of experience sparked concern in intelligence community
Several in the intelligence community expressed concern over Mr Bongino’s lack of experience and support for conspiracy theories, NBC News reported at the start of the year.
Two FBI officials who spoke to the publication voiced their concerns, noting the deputy FBI director typically runs the bureau’s operations and oversees the special agents that lead its 55 field offices across the country.
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The FBI Agents Association, a non-profit organisation aimed at supporting current and retired agents, did not comment on Mr Bongino’s appointment at that time, but did create a memo seen by NBC News that appeared to suggest he was not qualified for the position.
Without naming anyone specifically, the memo read: “The FBI Deputy Director should continue to be an on-board, active Special Agent – as has been the case for 117 years for many compelling reasons, including operational expertise and experience, as well as the trust of our Special Agent population.”
After nearly a year as deputy director, Mr Bongino announced on 17 December he plans to resign from the bureau, saying on social media: “I will be leaving my position with the FBI in January.
“I want to thank President Trump, AG Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose. Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you.”
It’s unclear what he’ll do next, or why he was resigning.
