FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is leaving the bureau and appears to be headed back to his old right-wing podcast.
On Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump confirmed rumors that Bongino was clearing out his desk at FBI headquarters in Washington. Asked by a journalist why Bongino is leaving the bureau, the president responded, “Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show.”
Bongino confirmed the news shortly after in a post on X, writing: “I will be leaving my position with the FBI in January. I want to thank President Trump, AG Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose.”
Earlier in the day, a person close to Bongino told NOTUS that the law enforcement official had always intended to leave after a year on the job — particularly after addressing some personal fixations.
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For example, Bongino had long used his popular conservative political show to question mainstream media narratives and complain about the lack of government transparency over the jail cell death of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the unsolved case of the D.C. pipe bomber. The Department of Justice is now days away from releasing the Epstein files. And the FBI recently arrested a man it accused of planting those bombs that didn’t go off — thanks, in part, to a team effort led by Bongino.
Another source familiar with Bongino told NOTUS this week that his media company, Silverloch Studios, has told at least one person that the current FBI employee would be returning to the company in the new year.
Though he saw personal accomplishments, Bongino’s exit comes after a tumultuous time at the agency. It was initially rocked during the height of the Epstein files saga and at times pitted against the DOJ as Americans, including Trump’s own base (and some of Bongino’s old audience) searched for whom to blame over the lack of perceived transparency. Over the summer, there were questions about whether he — clearly frustrated — would stay in his role.
Bongino’s short tenure also came with a few gaffes. In May, he was roundly criticized over a bizarre interview on “Fox & Friends” during which he seemed to whine about the difficulty of the job.
“I gave up everything for this. I mean, you know, my wife is struggling,” he said on air. “I stare at these four walls all day in D.C., you know, by myself, divorced from my wife. Not divorced, but I mean, separated. And it’s hard. We love each other, but it’s hard to be apart.”
Then, when the FBI proudly announced its agents had tracked down the alleged pipe bomber who had eluded capture for nearly five years, Bongino at the press conference refused to acknowledge that he had long spread a conspiracy theory that the act was an “inside job” by FBI personnel. Later that night, Bongino gave Fox News host Sean Hannity a peculiar explanation for his previous stance.
“Listen, I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions,” he said during the interview.
The suspect’s defense lawyer later told NOTUS that the conspiracy theory was utterly false.
But at only a year on the job, Bongino’s tenure now stands among the shortest for the deputy director role in recent memory. The position, which largely focuses on overseeing sensitive operations at the domestic intelligence and law enforcement agency, is typically held by a long-term career agent who rises through the bureau ranks — thus earning the trust and respect of the thousands of special agents they command. By contrast, the Trump White House’s decision to appoint Bongino rankled many within the rank-and-file, who did not approve of the thought of having a former Secret Service agent-turned-podcast-provocateur lead some of the nation’s most high-profile investigations.
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