Ex-Secret Service agent podcaster named FBI deputy director

(The Center Square) – Former New York police officer and Secret Service agent Dan Bongino will assume the position of Deputy Director of the FBI, President Donald Trump announced Sunday.

Currently an outspoken conservative podcaster, the 50-year-old Trump supporter previously appeared on National Rifle Association Television and hosted “Unfiltered with Dan Bongino” on Fox News until 2023.

Trump congratulated Bongino – “a man of incredible love and passion for our Country” – in a social media post Sunday and indicated that FBI Director Kash Patel had made the decision. Patel followed up on Trump’s post Monday morning on X, calling Bongino “the ideal choice” and a “cops cop [sic].” 

“With Pam Bondi as our new Attorney General, we are assembling a team focused on restoring public trust, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring justice is served,” Patel added. “Dan is stepping away from an incredibly successful career because he believes in this mission – together, we are ready to put the mission first.”

The unexpected appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation, has raised further concerns among Democrats about increasing partisanship inside the president’s national security cabinet. Patel himself was one of Trump’s most controversial candidates and just barely confirmed by the Senate last week. 

Bongino thanked the president on X Sunday night. 

“I’ve spent my life in public service, beginning with the NYPD and continuing through my time as a Secret Service agent, working under both Republican and Democrat administrations,” he said.

“My career has always been about service. I’m here to work. I’m here to lead. And I’m here to ensure that America’s law enforcement institutions uphold the values and integrity they were built upon.”