Trump Taps Missouri’s Firebrand AG For #2 Job At FBI

President Trump is planning to appoint Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to share the #2 position at the FBI with Dan Bongino, for now, to serve as „an integral part of this important mission,” according to a statement from Director Kash Patel.

Bailey announced his resignation on Monday in order to take on the new role.

„My life has been defined by a call to service, and I am once again answering that call, this time at the national level,” Bailey said in a statement.

Some have interpreted this as the beginning of the end for Bongino – who has clashed with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the release of the Epstein files – leading the former podcaster to leave work for several days in July.

According to the NY Times (so who knows), „People close to Mr. Trump were unhappy with Mr. Bongino’s display of anger, but believed that having him leave his job could undermine the president.”

Trump was expected to have announced Bailey’s move on Monday, according to Politico.

Bailey, a former prosecutor who has been Missouri’s AG since January 2023, interviewed with Trump at Mar-a-Lago during the transition as a potential pick for US Attorney General. His tenure as AG has included several high-profile moves to help Trump and his interests, including a petition filed last year with the US Supreme Court seeking to lift a gag order against Trump and delay sentencing in his New York trial until after the Nov. 5 election.

Former Missouri House Speaker Catherine Hanaway, meanwhile, has been appointed by Gov. Mike Kehoe to replace Bailey at the state’s next AG. After serving out Bailey’s term, which runs until the end of 2028, Hanaway told reporters on Tuesday that she plans to seek a full term of her own.

„My game plan, for sure, is to serve the next three years,” she said, adding „and then if Missourians will vote for me and believe I earned a full term, then I’d like to serve a full term.”

Hanawway was the state’s first female speaker of the House, eventually leaving politics to focus on her law practice.