FBI co-deputy director Andrew Bailey steps down amid agency shake-up

Andrew Bailey, a deputy director of the FBI who has been overseeing some of Trump’s election-related investigations, will step down from his position approximately one year after assuming his role.“I am announcing that I am stepping down to return to my family in Missouri,” Bailey wrote in an X post on Monday amid an ongoing shake-up at the bureau.“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,” he added, thanking the FBI director, Kash Patel, Donald Trump and the attorney general, Todd Blanche.Bailey, a hardline conservative and former attorney general of Missouri, began serving in the unusual co-deputy director position with former deputy Dan Bongino, a podcaster who had no formal FBI experience, in September 2025.Since Bongino left the FBI in January, Bailey has been serving as co-deputy director with Christopher Raia, a former FBI special agent and New York field office official. It is unclear whether Trump plans to pick another deputy director to serve alongside Raia.In his role at the FBI, Bailey had been overseeing some of Trump’s election-related investigations, including one related to 2020 ballots in Georgia. He was present in January when FBI agents executed a search warrant at an election office in Fulton County and seized ballots among other materials from the 2020 presidential election.MS Now was the first to report on Bailey’s resignation.Under Patel’s leadership, the FBI has seen mass departures of career agents, some of whom have been forced out for perceived political bias; some have left voluntarily for fear of retribution or to avoid carrying out orders they do not agree with.Though Bailey said he was leaving to spend more time with family, a New York Times report indicated that Bailey and Raia had somewhat of a contentious relationship with Patel and went long stretches without speaking to each other.When asked for comment, the FBI referred The Guardian to Bailey’s social media post announcing his resignation.On X, Patel thanked Bailey for his dedicated service.“Although Andrew is leaving the FBI in order to return to his family in Missouri, his fantastic contribution instituting critical reforms which resulted in our historic success will live on. Andrew’s leadership at the FBI will be missed but we are grateful he answered the call to serve!” Patel wrote.