Dan Bongino’s run as the FBI’s No. 2 is over, and the timing couldn’t be worse.
Bongino had been on the job for less than a year when, on Wednesday, he announced that he would be leaving his post as deputy director of the FBI. But guess what? President Donald Trump confirmed his departure before Bongino went public! The exit ends a nine-month tenure that was filled with internal/external falling outs and tension over how the Jeffrey Epstein files were being handled.
In a farewell post on X (formerly Twitter), Bongino thanked Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel, along with “[his] fellow Americans,” for the privilege. Trump has waved off any drama as he told reporters that Dan Bongino “did a great job” and wanted to return to his media career. But many people aren’t convinced the reason is that simple.
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.
Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you.
God bless America, and…
— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) December 17, 2025
Now, let’s look back at how Trump appointed Dan Bongino (who used to be a Secret Service agent and then a conservative podcaster) as deputy FBI director in February 2025. The pick raised eyebrows from the start. Why, you ask? Well, he never held a senior leadership role inside the bureau. Plus, he was known for peddling hardline commentary and conspiracy theories on federal law enforcement online. So yeah, not exactly what you’d want the FBI to stand for.
According to Politico, Dan Bongino obviously struggled to adjust to bureaucracy. He drew criticism within the FBI for his lack of experience and for repeatedly clashing with Bondi over how the Justice Department handled the Epstein investigation.
The Epstein issue proved to be the most radioactive. So, before joining the administration, Dan Bongino used to claim that the convicted s– offender was murdered to protect influential figures. But inside government, he and Kash Patel went on Fox News to insist that Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019, which is also the official DOJ conclusion.
To make matters worse, Dan Bongino claimed there was no such thing as an Epstein client list.
Dan Bongino’s last public act as deputy director was celebrating the arrest of the J6 patsy. Shame
When he goes back to podcasting are you going to listen? pic.twitter.com/XQhapYVGDK
— Rob Dew (@DewsNewz) December 16, 2025
That infuriated parts of Trump’s own base and led to disagreements with Bondi. After conservative activists demanded transparency and DOJ officials tried to tamp down speculation, we saw a court mandating the release of the infamous Epstein files.
By August, Bongino’s standing had eroded enough that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey was brought in as a second deputy FBI director. Also, an internal FBI report critical of both Patel and Bongino got leaked to conservative media. According to MS Now, the Justice Department is under a deadline to release the Epstein files by Friday, which is, maybe not so surprisingly, the same day Bongino “tentatively planned” to announce his exit.
To be fair, Trump officials praised Dan Bongino for helping the FBI arrest a suspect in the January 6 pipe bomb case. But of course, Bongino had previously spread false information about the same investigation!
Do you think Bongino’s term was always going to end this way?
