Is Missouri’s Andrew Bailey on track to take the top spot at Trump’s FBI? | Opinion
It’s official: Andrew Bailey — until very recently Missouri’s attorney general — is now the co-deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Just don’t expect him to keep the gig for very long.
That’s not because we should expect Bailey to join the legendary short-tenure ranks of hired-and-fired Trump administration officials like Anthony Scaramucci, the communications director who lasted 10 days on the job, or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez, who last month was booted after just a few weeks on the job because she believes in vaccines.
Nah. Bailey’s too smart — and too loyal to President Donald Trump — to let that kind of thing happen to him.
The real issue is that Bailey’s new boss is FBI Director Kash Patel, who is frankly making a hash of things.
Patel is also undoubtedly loyal to Trump, but he majorly goofed up last week while leading the bureau’s investigation into the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He tweeted — falsely — that a “subject” in the case was in custody, only to walk back the announcement 90 minutes later. He was reportedly dining at a fancy New York City restaurant at the time.
It was an embarrassing performance. And it has sparked a movement from MAGA leaders to shove Patel out of the job.
“We would be wise to take a moment and ask whether Kash Patel has what it takes to get this done,” the Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo said Friday on X.
If Patel is out, he’ll need to be replaced. Bailey might be the man for the job. That’s not necessarily a good thing for America.
Defending Trump, not the rule of law
We have arrived at this moment because Trump has staffed his administration by picking loyalists — preferably telegenic loyalists from Fox News — instead of people who actually know what they’re doing.
So it goes with the FBI.
Most agency directors come to the job with long and distinguished histories of government service, particularly in law enforcement. Before he got the top gig, though, Patel had spent the previous few years writing a pro-Trump children’s book, appearing on podcasts, raising money for Jan. 6 insurrection defendants and spreading conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
It wasn’t really a resume that screamed competence.
For the FBI’s No. 2 spot — which does most of the day-to-day running of agency operations — Trump hired Dan Bongino, who did have previous experience as a Secret Service agent but was known mostly as a pro-Trump right-wing podcaster and radio host.
Bongino has also flubbed up the job, reportedly getting crosswise with Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of the notorious Epstein files. That’s why Bailey got his new gig as Bongino’s co-deputy director: Even this White House could see that the FBI needs an adult in the room.
And that’s why there are whispers in Washington that Bailey is being groomed for the FBI’s top spot.
Defending Trump, not the rule of law
We know Bailey wants the gig. He interviewed for the job last winter, only to see Trump hire Patel instead. Now he’s sharing the second-in-command position with Bongino, and we all know how well it works to have two people doing the same job.
That’s just one reason for doubts.
The problem is the president, who campaigned last year on an agenda of “vengeance” against his political enemies. One result: Patel has hobbled the agency, presiding over a purge of experienced agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases — cases that made Trump very angry.
In a lawsuit filed last week, a trio of former agents said they had been fired for political reasons.
“Patel explained that there was nothing (anyone) could do to stop these or any other firings, because ‘the FBI tried to put the President in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it,’” the agents said in their complaint.
There is no reason to think Bailey will be the man to change course.
As Missouri’s attorney general, Bailey used his powers to target businesses that sold LGBT paraphernalia and journalists who criticized MAGA allies such as Elon Musk. He mostly prioritized the obsessions of Trump and the GOP’s conservative base over defending the rule of law, the civil rights of progressives or the interests of Missourians.
Bailey might be smarter than Patel and Bongino. Whether he sticks in the No. 2 job or rises to become director, though, it’s really Donald Trump in charge. The FBI will keep stumbling as long as that’s the case.