FBI Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey Resigns After One Year Under Patel
A senior departure at the FBI's second-highest operational tier raises questions about leadership continuity at the bureau during an active period of structural reorganization under Director Kash...
FBI Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey informed colleagues on Monday, September 22, 2026, that he is leaving the bureau, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke to the Washington Examiner. Bailey joined the FBI's senior leadership team approximately one year ago, shortly after Director Kash Patel assumed control of the bureau following his Senate confirmation in February 2025.
Bailey served in the co-deputy director role, a position that sits directly beneath the director in the FBI's chain of command. He told colleagues his departure was motivated by a desire to spend more time with his family, according to the same source cited by the Washington Examiner. The FBI has not issued a public statement confirming Bailey's departure or naming a successor as of the date of this publication.
Before joining the FBI, Bailey served as Attorney General of Missouri, a post he held as a Republican. He was identified publicly as an ally of President Donald Trump, which aligned him with the broader political direction Patel brought to the bureau upon his confirmation.
Patel's tenure at the FBI has been marked by personnel changes across multiple leadership levels. Patel replaced former Director Christopher Wray, who resigned in January 2025 ahead of Patel's confirmation. Following confirmation, Patel moved to restructure elements of the bureau's senior staff, according to reporting from multiple outlets including the Washington Examiner.
The co-deputy director position Bailey occupied was one of two such roles at the FBI. The structure of having co-deputy directors, rather than a single deputy director, reflected an organizational arrangement implemented under Patel's leadership. Whether that structure will be maintained following Bailey's departure is not known based on publicly available information.
Bailey's exit comes at a period when the FBI is managing a range of active federal investigations, maintaining field office operations across 56 domestic locations, and responding to congressional oversight requests. The impact of his departure on any specific operational portfolio has not been publicly disclosed.
The FBI's budget for fiscal year 2026, as submitted to Congress, totaled approximately $10.8 billion, according to Department of Justice budget justification documents submitted to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Personnel at the co-deputy director level are Senior Executive Service positions subject to federal pay schedules, though specific compensation for Bailey's role is not cited in any publicly available filing reviewed for this article.
Congress has oversight authority over the FBI through the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. Neither committee has issued a public statement requesting information about Bailey's departure as of September 28, 2026.
What remains unknown is whether Bailey's resignation was voluntary in the conventional sense, whether any policy disagreement factored into the timing, and who will be appointed or designated to fill the co-deputy director role. The document that would most directly answer the succession question is an official FBI organizational announcement or a nomination filing if the position requires Senate confirmation, which a co-deputy director role does not under current statute. Any future congressional testimony from Bailey or Patel before the Senate or House Judiciary Committees would be the most direct public record to clarify the circumstances of the departure.