Andrew Bailey steps down as FBI deputy director to return to Missouri family

Andrew Bailey has resigned as one of the FBI's deputy directors and will return to Missouri. His exit closes a rare multi-deputy chapter as Kash Patel pushes reforms and faces scrutiny.

In Short

• Bailey cited spending more time with his family in Missouri
• He thanked Donald Trump, Todd Blanche and Kash Patel publicly
• Bailey became co-deputy director in August 2025 alongside Dan Bongino

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

Bailey was appointed co-deputy director in August 2025 alongside Dan Bongino during a period of friction between the FBI and Justice Department leadership over the handling of the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The arrangement was unusual because the FBI had for years had only one deputy director at a time, the bureau’s second-highest post.

A former Missouri attorney general and a strong Republican supporter of Trump, Bailey stayed on in the role after Bongino announced his departure. He also remained in place when the FBI in January added another deputy director, veteran agent Christopher Raia, to serve under Patel.

In his post, Bailey said: “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.”

Patel, in his own post, credited Bailey for his “dedicated service” and for “instituting critical reforms”. Bailey kept a low public profile during his short tenure, 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 FBI election fraud investigation.

Bailey’s departure ends a brief tenure in which he served during a sensitive period for the FBI, first alongside Bongino and later as the bureau added Christopher Raia as another deputy director under Patel.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends