On Tuesday, Vice President-elect JD Vance announced via social media that he and President-elect Donald Trump are in the process of interviewing candidates for the FBI director position, suggesting that Trump is considering dismissing the current FBI Director, Christopher Wray.

Wray started his 10-year tenure as FBI director in August 2017 during Trump’s first presidency. Although the president has the power to terminate the FBI director, as Trump previously did with James Comey, this power is seldom utilized.

The term of the FBI director was specifically designed after the Watergate scandal to shield the role from political pressures and interference.

Is Wray Facing Dismissal?

Neither the president-elect nor his campaign have publicly confirmed any plans to remove Wray. A request for comment from a spokesperson was not immediately answered.

Vance’s now-deleted post on X indicated that he had missed a Senate vote on a judicial nominee proposed by President Joe Biden because “I was meeting with President Trump to interview for several key government roles, including FBI director. Personally, I believe finding an FBI Director willing to challenge the deep state is more critical than the Republicans losing a vote 49-46 instead of 49-45. But that’s just my viewpoint.”

This post seemed to be a response to Grace Chong, who criticized Vance for not participating in the vote.

Trump appeared to agree with the sentiment that senators should not skip judicial nomination votes in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.

Despite having appointed Wray to the FBI leadership position, Trump has consistently voiced discontent with his performance, particularly as his first term was winding down. During the 2020 election, Trump suggested Wray should publicly declare an investigation into Biden, his Democratic opponent. According to The Washington Post, Trump expressed that Wray was not aiding his reelection efforts sufficiently.

Following his exit from the White House, Trump has continued to publicly criticize Wray, while Republican lawmakers have pushed Wray during intense public hearings in the wake of Trump’s 2020 election loss.

Trump’s unsubstantiated assertions that the FBI and the Justice Department were conspiring against him formed a key element of his successful 2024 campaign.