Texas senator John Cornyn, a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, took himself out of the running for FBI director on Tuesday.
Cornyn interviewed for the job to replace James Comey last weekend, and was the top GOP lawmaker who had been floated for the position.
“Now more than ever the country needs a well-credentialed, independent FBI Director. I’ve informed the Administration that I’m committed to helping them find such an individual, and that the best way I can serve is continuing to fight for a conservative agenda in the U.S. Senate,” he wrote in a statement.
Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina representative and former prosecutor known for his no-nonsense style in committee hearings, was another popular name from Capitol Hill to surface. But he was not interviewed, and he stated his lack of interest in the position on Monday. “I was out of the country on a House intelligence committee mission when Jim Comey’s tenure ended as director of the FBI,” Gowdy posted to social media. “I spoke briefly with Attorney General Sessions Saturday when I returned and again this afternoon. I shared with him two things (1): the qualities I believe are indispensable for our next FBI Director to possess, and (2) my firm conviction that I would not be the right person.”
President Trump said the search to succeed Comey was “moving rapidly” on Monday. Other people to formally discuss the role with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, include FBI acting director Andrew McCabe, homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush Fran Townsend, and former House intelligence chairman and FBI agent Mike Rogers.
NPR reported Tuesday that Judge Merrick Garland, a novelty candidate for the post suggested by Utah senator Mike Lee and endorsed by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, has no intention to leave the bench.
