Longtime FBI insider Christopher Raia has been tapped to replace Dan Bongino as the agency’s deputy director.
FBI Director Kash Patel has selected Raia to succeed Bongino after the incumbent deputy director announced last month he would leave the bureau in January, the agency confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Friday evening.
Bongino’s nomination was met with skepticism in Washington, as he had no direct experience working at the FBI. He held years of experience in the Secret Service and was known in conservative circles as the host of a popular political podcast.
Bongino’s replacement, Raia, fits the more typical mold of having a career agent in the FBI’s No. 2 role, as he holds over two decades of experience at the bureau. Raia is expected to start the job as early as next week, according to the New York Times.
Raia was most recently appointed assistant director of the New York field office, one of the bureau’s most coveted roles, in April. He also served as deputy assistant director in the Counterterrorism Division at Headquarters in 2024, overseeing all international counterterrorism program management for the FBI. Previous roles included long stints in Texas, where Raia “spent 10 years investigating violent crime, gangs, drugs, and white-collar crime.”
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Bongino hasn’t disclosed details regarding his resignation less than a year after he started as deputy director. President Donald Trump suggested last month he missed hosting his podcast, saying Bongino “wants to go back to his show.”
“It was a busy last day on the job,” Bongino said in a statement posted to X last week. “Tomorrow I return to civilian life. It’s been an incredible year thanks to the leadership and decisiveness of President Trump. It was the honor of a lifetime to work with Director Patel, and to serve you, the American people.”