Dan Bongino's tumultuous tenure at the FBI is coming to an end.
The former podcaster's conflicts with other officials inside the bureau were whispered about for months.
Now Dan Bongino's FBI departure clears the path for this loyalist to seize total control.
Bongino's exit leaves FBI power vacuum
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino confirmed that he's walking away from his post in January.
"I will be leaving my position with the FBI in January," Bongino announced on X. "I want to thank President Trump, AG Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose."¹
The departure wasn't exactly a shock to Washington insiders.
Bongino had been feuding with Attorney General Pam Bondi for months over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, leading to heated confrontations at the White House that left Trump supporters confused and often fuming.
There’s no doubt Bondi has badly “wiffed” the Epstein files situation, as Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles tacitly admitted according to a recent controversial Vanity Fair profile.
The reclusive Wiles may hold a tighter grip on the administration that many had thought because not only did she claim the profile as a hit piece that left out meaningful context, so did virtually every other senior administration official save for Bongino.
Of course, what choice did she leave them?
Wiles’ criticism of Bondi nonetheless seems to have served as pretext to poo-pooing how much the MAGA base cares about seeing Epstein’s elite cohorts held to account for whatever rolls they played in the saga – whether it be in relation to sex-trafficing, for which Epstein and Ghizlaine Maxwell were the sole individuals to see charges, or for what seems to be a glaringly obvious corrupt influence peddling and backmail operation.
“I think she completely whiffed on appreciating that that was the very targeted group that cared about this,” Wiles said in the profile, meaning Bondi should have just ignored it regardless of Trump’s voters, the campaign promises to them, or anything other senior administration officials had previously said.
To that end, Wiles' remarks to Vanity Fair about Vice President Vance being “a conspiracy theorist for a decade,” and Kash Patel and Bongino having been part of “that world,” now look intended to discredit Bongino – and possibly Vance – and blunt what Bongino might have to say on the matter once he leaves the administration.
Those machinations aside, the mainstream media is racing to paint a picture of chaos and disunity to hobble both those remaining in the White House and Bongino as he prepares to return, presumably, to his eponymous Dan Bongino Show and his previous role as an influential commentator.
CNN reported that Bongino issued an ultimatum: "She [Bondi] goes, or I go."²
It appears Wiles has sided with Bondi throughout the controversy.
The former Secret Service agent’s cache in White House evidently never recovered from that power struggle.
And his credibility took another hit when he was forced to walk back theories about the January 6 pipe bomber case — theories he had also promoted on his podcast before joining the FBI.
"I'm not paid for my opinions anymore," Bongino awkwardly told Sean Hannity after the FBI arrested a suspect in the pipe bombings that contradicted his previous claims. "I work for the taxpayer."³
Andrew Bailey positioned to consolidate power
With Bongino heading for the exit, all eyes turn to his co-deputy director Andrew Bailey — and he's perfectly positioned to seize total control of the FBI's day-to-day operations.
Bailey was brought in last August as "co-deputy director" in what many saw as a clear signal that Bongino's days were numbered.
The arrangement was unprecedented in FBI history.
Nobody creates a co-deputy director position unless they're planning to phase someone out.
Bailey served as Missouri's Attorney General before joining the FBI, where he built a sterling reputation as a conservative warrior and loyalist who never backed down from a fight when given a green light.
He sued the State of New York alleging election interference after Trump's Manhattan criminal trial, arguing it violated Missouri voters' rights.⁴
Bailey also fought radical leftist attempts to chemically castrate children through "gender-affirming care" and defended the unborn against abortion extremists.
"I am thrilled to welcome Andrew Bailey as Co-Deputy Director of the FBI," Attorney General Bondi said when Bailey joined. "He has served as a distinguished state attorney general and is a decorated war veteran."⁵
Veteran of two combat tours
The 44-year-old Missouri native served two combat tours in Iraq as an armored cavalry officer, experience he says taught him how to make life-or-death decisions under pressure.
"Politicians do a lot of talking. I like to get to work, and I like to produce results," Bailey explained. "And certainly, that was what was required of me on the battlefield in Iraq."⁶
Bailey earned his law degree from the University of Missouri and worked his way up through the state's legal system.
He served in the Warren County prosecutor's office before becoming general counsel for the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Governor Mike Parson eventually brought Bailey into his administration, where he rose to become general counsel before being appointed Attorney General in 2022.
Throughout his career, Bailey showed he could deliver results.
Something more and more Trump supporters see Kash Patel largely failing to do, either because he can’t, or won’t.
Trump considered Bailey for FBI Director before ultimately choosing Kash Patel, but sources said the President was impressed with Bailey's qualifications and temperament.
Now Bailey could have a chance to prove he was a better choice all along.
Time will tell whether or not that means winning a war against Susie Wiles and Pam Bondi.
¹ Dan Bongino, X post, December 17, 2025.
² Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes, Evan Perez & Paula Reid, "Bongino still in limbo as Trump fumes and JD Vance seeks to play mediator," CNN, July 14, 2025.
³ FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, December 2025.
⁴ Andrew Bailey, "Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey's admirers — and detractors — expect him to make a big impact at the FBI," St. Louis Public Radio, August 28, 2025.
⁵ Pam Bondi statement, "I am thrilled to welcome Andrew Bailey as Co-Deputy Director of the FBI," Fox News Digital, August 19, 2025.
⁶ Jason Rosenbaum, "Missouri state attorney general named co-deputy director of FBI," NPR, September 2, 2025.
