FBI Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey is leaving the bureau roughly one year after joining Director Kash Patel’s leadership team, a source familiar with the matter confirmed.
Bailey, a former Republican attorney general of Missouri and an ally of President Donald Trump, told colleagues Monday that he was departing to spend more time with his family, a source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.
In a statement posted on X, Bailey, who had recently been leading election investigations within the bureau, thanked Trump for the opportunity to “Make America Safe Again.”
“With great pride in what we have accomplished, I am announcing that I am stepping down to return to my family in Missouri,” Bailey said. “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.”
His departure was first reported by MS Now, which claimed it also stemmed in part from frustration over the recent demotions of two counterterrorism officials in the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
The narrative that Bailey was leaving because he was “annoyed” by those personnel decisions was “complete bulls***,” the source said.
His departure follows the reassignment of two senior counterterrorism supervisors over their handling of an investigation into allegedly harassing phone calls to Katie Miller, the wife of senior White House aide Stephen Miller.
The supervisors were reportedly demoted and transferred to bureau headquarters amid dissatisfaction with the investigation’s pace. Washington Field Office chief Darren Cox said the decision was made within the field office and was not ordered by Patel.
Bailey’s exit marks another change in the bureau’s unusual arrangement of having two officials share its second-highest-ranking position. He was appointed in August last year to serve alongside then-Deputy Director Dan Bongino. After Bongino departed in January, Christopher Raia, who had led the FBI’s New York field office, was selected to succeed him, sharing the role with Bailey.
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The departure comes as Patel faces continued criticism from Democrats over the bureau’s direction and personnel changes under the Trump administration.
Patel was grilled by Democrats earlier this month over a variety of issues, including the bureau’s policy change to allow victims of bestiality to serve in the FBI and his travel as director. Patel has argued that he has spent less time on leisurely travel than his predecessors, Chris Wray and James Comey.