Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey will leave his role to join the FBI as co-deputy director, sharing the position with conservative commentator and former law enforcement officer Dan Bongino, he announced Monday.
“I am proud to announce I have accepted the role of Co-Deputy Director of the FBI,” Bailey, a Republican, said in a statement. “I extend my thanks to [President Donald Trump] and [Attorney General Pam Bondi] for the opportunity to serve in the mission to Make America Safe Again.”
I am proud to announce I have accepted the role of Co-Deputy Director of the FBI.
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) August 18, 2025
I extend my thanks to @POTUS and @AGPamBondi for the opportunity to serve in the mission to Make America Safe Again.
I will protect America and uphold the Constitution. pic.twitter.com/hkMi2p1bXV
Bailey was appointed Missouri attorney general in 2022 to replace Eric Schmitt, who left the post to serve in the Senate, and won a full term last year. He has been a staunch Trump defender, backing the president through multiple indictments and legal fights in 2023 and 2024.
The move comes as the FBI and Justice Department face renewed scrutiny over their handling of documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. A joint memo issued last month asserted Epstein left behind no client list and reaffirmed he died by suicide in his New York jail cell in 2019, conclusions that have infuriated Trump allies who long pushed for greater transparency and their theories that Epstein died under possibly more mysterious circumstances.
Bongino, who was tapped earlier this year to help oversee the bureau, clashed with Bondi and other DOJ leaders over the Epstein findings and briefly absented himself from work during the controversy. Despite tensions, Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel have recently shifted focus toward crime-fighting initiatives in Washington, D.C.
Before landing the deputy slot Monday evening, Bailey had previously angled for top federal posts, including FBI director and U.S. attorney general.
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Former Trump defense attorney Will Scharf, who currently works as the White House staff secretary under Trump, ran unsuccessfully in last year’s GOP primary for the state attorney general’s office.
The Missouri attorney general’s office has become a pipeline for Trumpworld figures, producing other high-profile appointees such as Solicitor General D. John Sauer.
