Trump's 'radical' plans for the FBI come into focus

Calling it "great news for law enforcement and American justice," President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Dan Bongino, the far-right podcaster and staunch MAGA stalwart, will join his administration as the deputy director of the FBI. Like newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, Bongino has never been a member of the federal organization he is now expected to lead.

Nevertheless, in a Truth Social post announcing Bongino's new role, Trump insisted that "fairness, justice, law and order will be brought back to America, and quickly" under this new FBI team. By naming Bongino as FBI deputy director, Trump is making clear his vision for the storied institution. As that vision comes into focus, critics worry this new iteration of the FBI will be predicated on public fealty to Trump rather than adherence to the principles of federal law enforcement.

'Unqualified, unprincipled, partisan henchmen'

At the moment, the FBI is "gripped by turmoil" as the broader Justice Department "forced out a group of senior bureau officials" and demanded the release of identifying information on "thousands" of agents who worked on the bureau's investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, said The Associated Press. Democrats had, in the weeks leading up to Patel's confirmation and now Bongino's non-Senate-confirmable position, "sounded the alarm" that Patel would "operate as a loyalist" to the president, and "abuse" his FBI position to "go after the president's adversaries."

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The Trump administration is turning federal law enforcement over to "unqualified, unprincipled, partisan henchmen," said Gregg Nunziata, a longtime Republican operative, conservative legal scholar and former general counsel to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on X. "It's unacceptable and conservatives need to say so."

Bongino's law enforcement background is limited to time served in the New York City Police Department followed by a stint in the Secret Service that ended over a decade ago. His appointment is a "radical and abrupt departure" for the bureau, said The New York Times. It is "all but certain to prompt concerns" over how Bongino and Patel — both of whom "freely peddled misinformation and embraced partisan politics" — will run an organization "typically insulated from White House interference."

A 'loyalty-first' FBI

Under Patel and Bongino, the FBI can now "function effectively as Trump's private security force," said Axios. Having once declared that his "entire life right now is about owning the libs," Bongino and his new position are a sign of Trump's retributive "loyalty-first" approach to federal law enforcement — and the government as a whole.

Broadly, the FBI has become a "key part" of this administration's "government reform agenda," Bloomberg Law said. With Patel expected to take over as acting director of the separate Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in addition to his role atop the FBI, we may see a "move afoot to move ATF" into the FBI entirely, former FBI deputy assistant director Danny Coulson said to "Fox Report Weekend." While MAGA backers have hailed Trump's changes as part of a process to "restore the FBI's commitment to law enforcement," said the National Review, critics worry the recent staffing moves are a sign that Trump intends to "corrupt the bureau's nonpartisan mission."