The White House on Monday appointed former FBI agent Brian Driscoll as acting chairman of the commission after assistant director Paul Abbate opted to move down from the position.
Abbate was expected to lead the organization partially after Christopher Wray retired after about 3 years of services.
Driscoll’s visit comes as the FBI is gearing up for a period of transition away of Senate confirmation sessions for President Donald Trump’s candidate for director, Kash Patel.
Patel, a faithful Trump supporter, has been a vocal critic of the FBI’s management, raising fears among Liberals over his possible use of the commission to pin Trump’s adversaries.
Paul Abbate, who served as Wray’s lieutenant for nearly four years and was next in line to work as chairman, announced his retirement in an email to colleagues on Monday.
“ When the Director asked me to stay on past my mandatory date for a brief time, I did so to help ensure continuity and the best transition for the FBI, ” Abbate wrote in the mail, cited by news agency AP.
“Now, with fresh administration email… I am departing the FBI now. ”
Abbate’s pensions after a 28-year job at the FBI, was sudden as he held popular leadership responsibilities, including heading the Detroit and Washington field offices and overseeing the fugitive and cyber trees.
His exit adds to the tumult within the company as it braces for possible shifts under Patel’s management.
“As you move ahead, continue to stay true to our core beliefs, be there for our partners, and take care of those who serve alongside you. Thank you for your service, ” Abbate wrote.
Driscoll, who was lately appointed by Wray as special agent in charge of the Newark area business, will move into the position of acting producer. Before this, he led the FBI’s wealthy Hostage Rescue Team.
In an internet to employees, Driscoll expressed his commitment to maintaining balance during the move. “ In the meantime, our goal is to keep the target on the Bureau’s important function, those we do the work with, and those we do the job for — the American people, ” he wrote.
Driscoll even named Robert Kissane, a top cybersecurity established in the New York office, as acting assistant producer.
Wray, who served as FBI director for more than seven decades after being appointed by Trump in his first term, actually stepped down on Sunday.
