Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino to decide about future at bureau in coming weeks, sources say

Dan Bongino

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino to decide about future at bureau in coming weeks, sources say

Deputy director faces decision within weeks following blistering 115-page report from bureau personnel

Anders Hagstrom Fox News

Published

December 15, 2025 2:43pm EST

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Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino will make a decision about his future at the bureau within the next few weeks, two sources familiar with his considerations tell Fox News.

The sources deny recent reports that Bongino's office at the FBI is empty, but they say that his departure is a possibility in the near future.

A source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital that Bongino has not made any decisions about his future.

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FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino at news conference

FBI Director Kash Patel, left, and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino conduct a news conference at the Department of Justice on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Bongino's tenure at the FBI has come under fire in recent weeks, alongside FBI director Kash Patel. Earlier this month, a blistering report from an alliance of active-duty and retired FBI personnel portrayed the bureau as directionless under its new leadership.

Bongino and Patel pushed back on the report, however, defending sweeping reforms they say have delivered major gains in accountability and public safety.

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"When the director and I moved forward with these reforms, we expected some noise from the small circle of disgruntled former agents still loyal to the old Comey–Wray model," Bongino told Fox News at the time.

"That was never our audience. Our responsibility is to the American people. And under the new leadership team, the bureau is delivering results this country hasn't seen in decades — tighter accountability, tougher performance standards, billions saved and a mission-first culture. That's how you restore trust."

New York Post columnist and Fox News contributor Miranda Devine said last week that an internal 115-page report from FBI active-duty and retired agents and analysts heavily criticized Patel and Bongino since they took on their respective jobs earlier this year.

FBI Director Kash Patel at a DOJ news conference about the January 6 pipe bomber arrest.

FBI Director Kash Patel is facing criticism over his tenure at the bureau. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The alliance criticized Patel as "in over his head" and Bongino as "something of a clown," according to The New York Post.

The outlet said the 115-page assessment was written in the style of an FBI intelligence product and analyzed reports from 24 FBI sources and sub-sources who described their experiences inside the bureau.

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Devine said Patel was described by multiple internal sources as inexperienced, with one source saying he "has neither the breadth of experience nor the bearing an FBI director needs to be successful."

Patel told Fox News Digital the FBI is "operating exactly as the country expects."

Fox News' Ashely Carnahan contributed to this report.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on X: @Hagstrom_Anders.

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino to decide about future at bureau in coming weeks, sources say