FBI Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey Stepping Down, Citing Family Reasons

FBI Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey announced Monday that he is leaving the bureau after just over a year on the job, marking the departure of one of Director Kash Patel's top deputies.

Bailey, who previously served as Missouri's attorney general, is stepping down for family reasons, according to an internal FBI email seen by The New York Times.

Patel confirmed the news in a post on X, thanking Bailey for his service.

"I want to thank Andrew Bailey for his dedicated service to return the FBI to its core mission and fulfill President Trump's promise to make America safe again," Patel wrote. "Although Andrew is leaving the FBI in order to return to his family in Missouri, his fantastic contribution instituting critical reforms which resulted in our historic success will live on."

Bailey's exit represents another shake-up in the FBI's top ranks under President Donald Trump.

It also comes after months of reported friction between Bailey and Patel. Sources told The Times the two men struggled to work together, with multiple people familiar with their interactions claiming they did not get along and would sometimes go long stretches without speaking.

Bailey joined the bureau in 2025 as co-deputy director under an unusual leadership setup created during then-Attorney General Pam Bondi's tenure.
Traditionally, the FBI has operated with a single deputy director, usually a career bureau official tasked with overseeing day-to-day operations.

Trump first tapped former Secret Service agent and podcaster Dan Bongino as Patel's deputy, even though Bongino had no prior FBI experience. Bailey was later added as an additional deputy director, and Christopher Raia, a longtime FBI agent, subsequently joined the leadership team as well.

According to The Times, Bailey's appointment sparked speculation among some FBI personnel that Bondi had positioned the former Missouri attorney general as a possible replacement for Patel if Trump soured on the director.

That scenario never played out. Instead, Bondi was fired in April, and Patel stayed in his post.

In the months that followed, Bailey was reportedly sidelined and kept a relatively low profile at the bureau.

One notable exception came when Bailey appeared during the FBI's execution of a warrant seeking 2020 election ballots in Fulton County, Georgia. That operation took place as federal authorities continued to examine claims surrounding the 2020 election, which Trump has repeatedly alleged was rigged.
Now, Bailey is heading home to Missouri.

His departure leaves the FBI's leadership structure without one of the co-deputy directors brought in under the arrangement devised during Bondi's time as attorney general.

Despite the reported tension between the two men, Patel offered warm words for his outgoing deputy, crediting Bailey with helping return the bureau to its core mission and with instituting critical reforms.

Patel said those reforms contributed to what he described as the bureau's historic success, adding that Bailey's contribution "will live on."
The internal email cited family reasons as the driving factor behind Bailey's decision to leave the bureau, a point Patel echoed in his post, noting Bailey is returning to his family in Missouri.