Dan Bongino Weighs Future At FBI As Internal Criticism Mounts
Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is weighing whether to remain at the bureau, with a decision expected in the coming weeks, according to two sources familiar with his thinking. The sources told Fox News that recent claims suggesting Bongino has already vacated his FBI office are false, though they acknowledged that his departure remains a real possibility.
A separate source told Fox News Digital that Bongino has not yet made a final determination about his future.
Bongino has come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, as the bureau undergoes sweeping reforms under President Donald J. Trump’s second-term administration.
Earlier this month, a coalition of active-duty and retired FBI personnel released a report portraying the bureau as rudderless under its new leadership. Bongino and Patel forcefully rejected that characterization, arguing the reforms have strengthened accountability and improved public safety.
“When the director and I moved forward with these reforms, we expected some noise from the small circle of disgruntled former agents still loyal to the old Comey Wray model,” Bongino told Fox News at the time.
He emphasized that leadership is focused on outcomes, not appeasing entrenched interests.
“Our responsibility is to the American people,” Bongino said, citing tighter accountability, tougher performance standards, cost savings, and a renewed mission-first culture at the FBI.
New York Post columnist and Fox News contributor Miranda Devine reported last week on an internal 115-page document compiled by current and former agents and analysts that sharply criticized Patel and Bongino. Bongino responded publicly, accusing Devine of relying on gossip from former employees opposed to reform.
“Miranda prefers the old guard,” Bongino wrote on X, adding that the reform agenda will continue.
Speculation about Bongino’s future intensified weeks ago following reports that he clashed with senior officials in the Trump administration over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Journalist Rachel Bade reported that Bongino angered senior leadership with his response to the Epstein materials, though it remains unclear whether any potential exit would be voluntary or forced.
Bade claimed Bongino’s actions led “senior staff complaining that he put his personal reputation with MAGA World ahead of the team’s best interests.”
According to multiple reports, Bongino had a “fiery confrontation” with Attorney General Pam Bondi over a joint Department of Justice–FBI memo stating there was no Epstein client list and no evidence Epstein blackmailed powerful individuals.
ABC News reported that the memo directly contradicted years of speculation surrounding Epstein’s activities and his death.
Axios later reported that Bongino was so frustrated by the dispute that he failed to report to work for a period of time, fueling internal speculation that he had resigned.
Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, built a national profile as a conservative commentator and podcaster prior to joining the FBI, where he had publicly promoted the theory that Epstein was murdered in federal custody. That claim was explicitly rejected in the DOJ–FBI memo, which concluded Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
“Since then, it’s been sour grapes where he’s concerned in the West Wing,” Bade wrote. “The expectation is that he’ll leave eventually; one person told me he’s told others he won’t be in the job much longer.”
In November 2025, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law. Following its enactment, U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman ruled Wednesday to unseal secret grand jury transcripts related to Epstein. Two additional federal judges earlier this month ordered the release of other sealed materials tied to Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted on five federal sex trafficking charges. She has stated that Trump was “not involved” in the trafficking operation.
President Trump has repeatedly said he did nothing wrong.
For now, Bongino’s future remains undecided, as the FBI continues its transformation amid internal resistance and heightened public scrutiny.