FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino vowed an aggressive law enforcement crackdown under the leadership of President Donald Trump, warning violent criminals across the country that “we’re about to ruin your summer if you’re a bad guy.”
Joined by FBI Director Kash Patel, Bongino painted a picture on Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo of a reinvigorated federal response to violent crime, trafficking, and organized criminal networks.
“There really is a new sheriff in town. His name’s Donald J. Trump,” Bongino said. “He wants people to walk outside and say, ‘Wow, my neighborhood does look different.’”
Bartiromo pressed Bongino on his tough stance on child exploitation.
“You said, if you take away a child’s innocence, we’re coming for you,” she noted.
“Yeah, that knock at the door. That’s not Amazon, that’s going to be us,” Bongino replied.
He revealed that he and Patel launched an initiative early to tackle child predators and recidivist criminals.
“This matters … it creates generational crime because abused kids then become abusers in a lot of these cases. I said, ‘We have a chance right now.’ I said, ‘We’ve got to go make their lives painful, these bad guys,’” the FBI deputy director said.
According to Bongino, the FBI has already made significant strides, arresting 400 suspected predators and rescuing 115 children in just one month.
“You think you’re safe in your dark web? I promise, you are absolutely not safe,” he warned traffickers and online offenders. “You have no idea what we can do.”
Patel provided insight into the logistics behind the crackdown, explaining that cities like Memphis, Tennessee, which he called the “homicide capital of America per capita,” and states like Ohio are being prioritized due to their roles in trafficking networks and violent crime.
He emphasized the importance of partnering with state, local, and tribal law enforcement to collect field intelligence and deploy resources where they are needed most.
Despite the bold plans, Bartiromo questioned how the Trump administration would fund these expansive operations given its proposed $500 million budget cut to the FBI in 2026.
“How are you going to maintain the effectiveness if you don’t have the resources?” she asked.
Patel dismissed concerns over the budget reduction by taking a dig at the previous administration’s spending priorities.
“We’ve got to get smart and stop wasting money. We’ve got to stop thinking of fantasies in Maryland and stop building $5 billion new buildings,” Patel said, referencing the Biden administration’s decision to move forward with an expensive new FBI headquarters in Greenbelt, Maryland, which Trump blocked in March.
Patel argued that reallocating resources is more effective than expanding bureaucracy. “A third of the crime doesn’t happen in D.C., yet thousands of agents are based there. We’re moving 1,500 agents into states where the crime actually is.”
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Bongino shared a crackdown warning: “Don’t buy movie tickets because you’re probably not going to cash them in.”
“You haven’t even seen the beginning,” Bongino said.