Reports are surfacing that President Trump will fire FBI Director Christopher Wray should he win reelection next Tuesday.
A senior White House official told Fox News on Sunday Trump is planning to remove Wray from his post if the president defeats Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the presidential election next week.
Axios first reported on Sunday the rumors that Trump was planning to fire Wray, along with CIA Director Gina Haspel and Defense Secretary Mark Esper. According to sources the news website spoke with both Haspel and Wray are unpopular within the president’s inner circle and would have been removed earlier if not for the political inconvenience a major shake-up would cause right before the Nov. 3 election.
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A senior FBI official told Fox News that Wray is widely considered a popular leader within the bureau and among law enforcement groups across the country, but that he is “keeping his head down and focusing on the work of the FBI.”
An FBI director’s term generally runs for 10 years, meaning that Wray ostensibly still has just under seven years to go before his tenure at the head of the bureau is up.
Rumors that Esper could be out of his job at the Pentagon have been circulating for months since the defense secretary publically spoke out against Trump’s remarks and said he is not in favor of the president invoking the Insurrection Act in order to send the U.S. military to quell violent protests.
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“The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire situations,” Esper said during a press conference in June. “We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act.”
Esper has not given a press conference in the Pentagon briefing room since then and has generally remained quiet when it comes to dealing with the media.
Another senior administration official agreed that both Wray and Esper were on the outs with Trump, but balked about rumors that Haspel would be forced out.
“Advisors have consistently told POTUS to wait until after election if he wants to replace Wray,” the official said. “Haspel isn’t going anywhere. POTUS has a good relationship with her.”
Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Kristin Fisher, David Spunt and Lucas Tomlinson
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