Bongino announced he will leave the FBI in January.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has resigned less than a year into the job.
I will be leaving my position with the FBI in January.
— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) December 17, 2025
I want to thank President Trump, AG Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose.
Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you.
God bless America, and…
“I will be leaving my position with the FBI in January,” Bongino wrote in an X post on Dec. 17.
“I want to thank President [Donald] Trump, [Attorney General Pam] Bondi, and [FBI] Director [Kash] Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose.
Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you.
God bless America, and all those who defend Her.”
President Donald Trump signaled that Bongino would be leaving his post hours before the announcement was made official.
“Dan did a great job,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Dec. 17.
“I think he wants to go back to his show.”
Bongino, who started his career as an officer for the New York Police Department and special agent for the U.S. Secret Service, was most known for being a political commentator on Fox News since 2013, as well as hosting The Dan Bongino show on Rumble, before he joined the FBI in February 2025.
Social media users, including current and former Fox News contributors such as Nicole Saphier and Trish Regan, commended Bongino for his work. Regan said she looked forward to seeing him broadcast again.
The Epoch Times contacted Fox News for comment on whether Bongino would return, but did not receive an immediate response.
Bongino did not have prior experience in the FBI before he was tapped for the No. 2 position under Patel.
“Dan is the best partner I could’ve asked for in helping restore this FBI,” Patel posted on X Wednesday night.
“He brought critical reforms to make the organization more efficient, led the successful Summer Heat op, served as the people’s voice for transparency, and delivered major breakthroughs in long unsolved cases like the pipe bomb investigation. And that’s only a small part of the work he went about every single day delivering for America.”
The FBI has not yet named a replacement for the position, which does not require Senate confirmation.
During Bongino’s brief tenure, he clashed with the Justice Department over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files after he spent years on his podcast demanding answers about the financier and sex offender’s 2019 death and high-profile connections.
Despite the reported disagreements over handling of the files, Trump said in July that their relationship remained close in July, calling Bongino “a very good guy.”
By Jacki Thrapp
