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Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

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Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a United States federal law enforcement agency, and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The FBI director is appointed for a single 10-year term by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. The FBI is an agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ), and thus the director reports to the attorney general of the United States. The director briefed the president on any issues that arose from within the FBI until the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 was enacted following the September 11 attacks. Since then, the director reports in an additional capacity to the director of national intelligence, as the FBI is also part of the United States Intelligence Community. The incumbent FBI director is Kash Patel, who was sworn in on February 21, 2025.

Infobox

Reports to
Attorney General Director of National Intelligence
Seat
J. Edgar Hoover Building, Washington, D .
Appointer
The president with Senate advice and consent
Term length
At the pleasure of the president. (10 years by statute), renewable (only by the Senate)
Formation
July 26, 1908
First holder
Stanley Finch
Deputy
Deputy Director
Website
www

Tables

· Nominations
Image
Name
Announced
Nominated by
Hearing date(s)
Committee vote result
Committee vote date
Cloture vote result
Cloture vote date
Floor vote result
Floor vote date
Further Details
William S. Sessions
Jul 24, 1987
Ronald Reagan
Sep 9, 1987
Reported Favorably
Sep 15, 1987
N/A
N/A
90–0
Louis Freeh
Jul 20, 1993
Bill Clinton
Jul 29, 1993
Reported Favorably
Aug 3, 1993
N/A
N/A
Confirmed by voice vote
Robert Mueller
Jul 5, 2001
George W. Bush
Jul 30, 2001 – Jul 31, 2001
Reported Favorably
Aug 2, 2001
N/A
N/A
98–0
James Comey
Jun 21, 2013
Barack Obama
Jul 9, 2013
Reported Favorably
Jul 18, 2013
Withdrawn by unanimous consent
Jul 29, 2013
93–1
Christopher A. Wray
Jun 7, 2017
Donald Trump
Jul 12, 2017
20–0
Jul 20, 2017
N/A
N/A
92–5
Kashyap Pramod Patel
Nov 30, 2024
Donald Trump
Jan 30, 2025
12–10
Feb 13, 2025
51–47
Feb 20, 2025
51–49
· Lists of officeholders › Bureau of Investigation chiefs and directors (1908–1935)
No.
Image
Name
Start
End
Duration
Refs.
President(s)
1
Stanley Finch
July 26, 1908
April 30, 1912
3 years, 279 days
Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)
William Howard Taft (1909–1913)
2
A. Bruce Bielaski
April 30, 1912
February 10, 1919
6 years, 286 days
Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)
–
William E. Allen Acting
February 10, 1919
June 30, 1919
140 days
3
William J. Flynn
July 1, 1919
August 22, 1921
2 years, 52 days
Warren G. Harding (1921–1923)
4
William J. Burns
August 22, 1921
May 10, 1924
2 years, 262 days
Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929)
5
J. Edgar Hoover
May 10, 1924
June 30, 1935
11 years, 51 days
Herbert Hoover (1929–1933)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
· Lists of officeholders › Federal Bureau of Investigation directors (1935–present)
No.
Image
Name
Start
End
Duration
Refs.
President(s)
1
J. Edgar Hoover
June 30, 1935
May 2, 1972
36 years, 307 days
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)
Harry S. Truman (1945–1953)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)
John F. Kennedy (1961–1963)
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
Richard Nixon (1969–1974)
–
Clyde Tolson Acting
May 2, 1972
May 3, 1972
1 day
–
L. Patrick Gray Acting
May 3, 1972
April 27, 1973
359 days
–
Bill Ruckelshaus Acting
April 30, 1973
July 9, 1973
70 days
2
Clarence M. Kelley
July 9, 1973
February 15, 1978
4 years, 221 days
Gerald Ford (1974–1977)
Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
–
James B. Adams Acting
February 15, 1978
February 23, 1978
8 days
3
Bill Webster
February 23, 1978
May 25, 1987
9 years, 91 days
Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)
–
John E. Otto Acting
May 25, 1987
November 2, 1987
160 days
4
William S. Sessions
November 2, 1987
July 19, 1993
5 years, 259 days
George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
Bill Clinton (1993–2001)
–
Floyd I. Clarke Acting
July 19, 1993
September 1, 1993
44 days
5
Louis Freeh
September 1, 1993
June 25, 2001
7 years, 297 days
George W. Bush (2001–2009)
–
Thomas J. Pickard Acting
June 25, 2001
September 4, 2001
71 days
6
Robert Mueller
September 4, 2001
September 4, 2013
12 years, 0 days
Barack Obama (2009–2017)
7
James Comey
September 4, 2013
May 9, 2017
3 years, 247 days
Donald Trump (2017–2021)
–
Andrew McCabe Acting
May 9, 2017
August 2, 2017
85 days
8
Christopher A. Wray
August 2, 2017
January 19, 2025
7 years, 171 days
Joe Biden (2021–2025)
–
Paul Abbate Acting
January 19, 2025
January 20, 2025
1 day
–
Brian Driscoll Acting
January 20, 2025
February 21, 2025
32 days
Donald Trump (2025–present)
9
Kash Patel
February 21, 2025
Incumbent
1 year, 92 days

References

  1. A procedural vote to move Patel's nomination forward passed 48–45 on February 18, 2025.
  2. "Directors, Then and Now"
    https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors
  3. "28 U . Code § 532 - Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation"
    https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/532
  4. "FBI Director: Appointment and Tenure"
    https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41850.pdf
  5. "Organization, Mission & Functions Manual: Attorney General, Deputy and Associate"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20170131085617/https://www.justice.gov/jmd/organization-mission-and-functions-manual-attorney-general#ag
  6. "FBI Intelligence Reform Since September 11, 2001: Issues and Options for Congress"
    https://fas.org/irp/crs/RL32336.html#n_30_
  7. FBI Director Nominations, 1973-2017
    https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44842.pdf
  8. Newsweek
    https://www.newsweek.com/can-president-fire-fbi-director-trump-comey-594716
  9. Chesney, Robert
    https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/backgrounder-power-appoint-remove-fbi-director
  10. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/us/politics/james-comey-fired-fbi.html
  11. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/us/28brfs-SENATEEXTEND_BRF.html
  12. The Wall Street Journal
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-officials-being-interviewed-for-interim-fbi-director-after-james-comeys-ouster-1494433033
  13. MSN
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/interim-fbi-director-likely-to-be-named-as-soon-as-wednesday/ar-BBAYQ9O
  14. "The FBI Director: Background on the Position"
    https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/directors/the-position-of-fbi-director
  15. "Previous Directors"
    https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors
  16. "Stanley W. Finch, July 26, 1908 - April 30, 1912"
    https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors/stanley-w-finch
  17. "Alexander B. Bielaski, April 30, 1912 - February 10, 1919"
    https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors/alexander-b-bielaski
  18. "William E. Allen (Acting), February 10, 1919 - June 30, 1919"
    https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors/william-e-allen
  19. "William J. Flynn, July 1, 1919 - August 21, 1921"
    https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors/william-j-flynn
  20. "William J. Burns, August 22, 1921 - June 14, 1924"
    https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors/william-j-burns
Image
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