Joe Lieberman will reportedly not be the FBI director after all

As President Trump waltzes across the Middle East and Western Europe this week, he leaves at home a gaping hole at the top of the FBI following the ousting of former FBI Director James Comey. Despite Trump claiming he was "very close" to having an FBI director last week, the leading candidate, former Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.), is now out of the running, CNN reports.

"Trump has since decided he wants to see a broader range of candidates for the job," CNN reports an administration official as saying.

Lieberman had no federal law enforcement background, The Hill reports, which sparked concerns in Congress. Lieberman is a partner at the same law firm as Trump's private attorney, Marc Kasowitz, who will represent Trump in the investigation, led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

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For the position, Trump has also interviewed former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating (R), acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, and former FBI official Richard McNeely; McNeely has since withdrawn from the running, and Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher, New York Court of Appeals Associate Judge Michael Garcia, Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R), and South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy (R) have also removed themselves from consideration.