WASHINGTON (AP) — Andrew Baileyone of the FBI’s two deputy directors, announced Monday that he was leaving his post after just over a year on the job and would return to Missouri to spend time with his family.
Bailey was named co-assistant director in August 2025 to serve alongside Dan Bongino at a time of high tensions between the leaders of the FBI and the Department of Justice on the management of the publication of Jeffrey Epstein’s files. The appointment was unusual because the FBI has for years had only one person at a time as deputy director and because the position, the bureau’s No. 2 position, is typically held by a career agent.
A strong supporter of President Donald Trump, Bailey was Missouri’s Republican attorney general when he was tapped to become deputy director to Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and popular podcaster who also had not previously worked for the FBI. Bailey remained at his post after Bongino announced his departure and as the FBI added another deputy director in January, veteran agent Christopher Raiato serve under the leadership of Director Kash Patel.
Bailey announced his resignation from the FBI in an article on X Monday in which he thanked Trump, Attorney General Todd Blanche and Patel for “the opportunity to serve.”
“With great pride in what we have accomplished, I announce that I am resigning to return to my family in Missouri. I am confident that Director Patel will continue to reform the FBI, combat violent crime, defend the homeland, ensure strong organizational accountability, and restore public confidence in this institution of excellence,” Bailey wrote.
His last day will be Friday, an FBI spokesperson said.
Patel, in his own post, credited him for his “dedicated service” and for “instituting critical reforms.”
Bailey maintained a low public profile during his brief tenure as deputy director, even if he was present in January when agents executed a search warrant at the main election center in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of a voter fraud investigation.
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