FBI deputy director Andrew Bailey quits after a year, returns to Missouri

Andrew Bailey has resigned as one of the FBI's deputy directors and will return to Missouri on Friday. His exit closes a brief, unusual chapter in a leadership structure shaped by political tension and reform promises.

In Short

• Bailey said he is leaving Friday to spend time with family
• He thanked Trump, Todd Blanche and Kash Patel in his post
• Bailey became co-deputy director during tensions over Jeffrey Epstein files

Andrew Bailey, one of the FBI’s two deputy directors, said on Monday that he is stepping down after a little over a year in the post and will return to Missouri to spend time with his family.

Bailey announced his resignation in a post on X, thanking US President Donald Trump, Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel “for the opportunity to serve”. His last day will be Friday, an FBI spokesman said.

Bailey was named co-deputy director in August 2025 alongside Dan Bongino during a period of high tension between the FBI and Justice Department leadership over the handling of the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The appointment was unusual because the FBI had for years only one deputy director at a time, and the bureau’s No. 2 post is usually held by a career agent.

A strong supporter of Trump, Bailey was serving as the Republican attorney general of Missouri when he was chosen for the role along with Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and popular podcaster who had also not previously worked for the FBI. Bailey stayed on after Bongino announced his departure. In January, the FBI added another deputy director, veteran agent Christopher Raia, to serve under Patel.

In his post, Bailey wrote: “With great pride in what we have accomplished, I am announcing that I am stepping down to return to my family in Missouri. I am confident Director Patel will continue to reform the FBI, combat violent crime, defend the homeland, ensure strong organisational accountability, and restore public trust in this institution of excellence.” In a separate post, Patel thanked Bailey for his “dedicated service” and for “instituting critical reforms”.

Bailey kept a low public profile during his short tenure as deputy director, though he was present in January when agents carried out a search warrant at the main election facility in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of an election fraud investigation. His exit marks the end of a brief stint in an unusually structured FBI leadership team.

With PTI Inputs

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