Another senior figure in the Trump-era FBI transformation is heading for the exit.
Andrew Bailey, one of FBI Director Kash Patel’s two co-deputy directors, announced September 28 that he would leave the bureau after roughly a year in the position and return to Missouri to spend more time with his family. His departure comes months after Dan Bongino, who originally shared the unusual leadership arrangement with Bailey, also left the FBI.
The timing has inevitably generated questions inside and outside the bureau. Bailey entered the FBI as Missouri’s attorney general and was appointed in August 2025 to serve as a co-deputy director alongside Bongino. The arrangement was highly unusual because the FBI traditionally has had a single deputy director, generally a career bureau official. After Bongino departed in January, career FBI veteran Christopher Raia joined Bailey in the No. 2 structure.
Bailey, however, gave no indication in his public announcement that he was leaving because of an internal dispute.
