USA · updated 46m ago · 2 min read
Andrew Bailey Resigns As FBI Co-Deputy Director, Returns To Missouri
Andrew Bailey resigns as FBI co-deputy director after just over a year. Resignation takes effect October 2, returning to Missouri to be with family.
Whether family reason is the full explanation.
4 of 5 outlets skipped it: operation VIPER violent-crime numbers during Bailey’s FBI tenure.
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WWashington Post
“Bailey told bureau employees in an email that he was leaving to spend more time with this family”Read the original ↗
The New Republic
“Bailey cited family duties as the impetus for his departure, The New York Times reported that he and Patel reportedly had an acrimonious relationship”Read the original ↗
The New Republic adds internal acrimony context while the Washington Post treats Bailey’s family reason as the email explanation.
Bailey quits FBI role
Andrew Bailey resigned as FBI co-deputy director, leaving the bureau after a little more than a year, and he said he was stepping down to return to his family in Missouri.
Bailey told colleagues that his resignation takes effect Oct. 2, and he wrote on social media that he was confident Director Patel would continue to reform the FBI.
An internal FBI email indicated Bailey would leave the agency for family reasons, and Bailey confirmed his move later Monday morning on social media.
Bailey served under FBI Director Kash Patel and helped oversee election-related investigations during his tenure as co-deputy director.
Bailey was present earlier this year when agents seized 2020 election ballots from Georgia.
Patel praises, no successor
FBI Director Kash Patel praised Bailey for his “fantastic contributions,” and Patel said the reforms Bailey helped institute and the FBI’s “historic success” would endure.
Bailey thanked President Donald Trump, Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel for the opportunity to serve, and he said he was stepping down to return to his family in Missouri.
Patel instructed staff to refer to him as director, to Bongino as deputy director and Bailey as co-deputy director, and Bailey was kept at arm's length and cut out of meetings.
KOKH said no successor was immediately announced after Bailey’s departure, and it said Bailey joined the FBI in September 2025 after leaving his post as Missouri attorney general.
Bloomberg Law News said Bailey resigned following a brief and tumultuous tenure sharing the duties as No. 2 to Kash Patel, and it said the resignation takes effect Oct. 2.
Leadership shakeup and politics
The resignation followed a personnel reshuffling tied to complaints from Stephen Miller and Katie Miller, after two agents who oversaw counterterrorism at the Washington Field Office were demoted, CBS News said. CBS News said Stephen and Katie Miller did not request that anyone be fired over the handling of threats against Katie Miller, but FBI officials chose to reassign some FBI personnel. Numerous agents and veteran FBI officials have been terminated or pushed out after their involvement in cases that displeased the White House.
Trump has installed political allies in the role as he overhauls the agency to align with his agenda, and the deputy director post has traditionally been apolitical and filled by career FBI officials. The latest high-profile departure at the FBI occurred about five weeks before the US midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.