Trump Confirms: Dan Bongino Leaving FBI to Go Back to His Show

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is preparing to resign from his post in the coming weeks and return to his career as a conservative podcaster and broadcaster, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

President Donald Trump confirmed the impending departure, telling reporters that Bongino had performed well in the role but appeared eager to resume his media work.

"Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show," Trump said.

Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, New York City police officer and prominent pro-Trump commentator with millions of followers on the social platform X, has begun shipping personal items from his Washington office to his home in Florida, the sources said.

The move signals a firm commitment to leaving government service early next year.

His roughly 10-month tenure has been turbulent, marked by public expressions of dissatisfaction with the job and internal disputes, including a high-profile clash with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of Jeffrey Epstein investigative files.

In May, Bongino openly discussed the personal toll of the position during an appearance on Fox & Friends.

"I gave up everything for this. I mean, you know, my wife is struggling," he said. "I stare at these four walls all day in DC, you know, by myself, divorced from my wife. Not divorced, but I mean, separated. And it's hard."

He continued: "People ask me all the time, ‘Do you like it?’ I say, 'No, I don't.'"

Bongino emphasized his pride in serving Trump but noted the family challenges, adding that "the president didn't ask me to do this to like it."

A key conflict erupted in July when Bongino and Bondi clashed over the Justice Department's conclusion that no Epstein "client list" existed, contradicting theories Bongino had promoted during his media career.

Sources described a tense confrontation in which Bondi accused Bongino of leaking information critical of her.

Bongino subsequently took time off, weighed resignation and told associates that Bondi had "overpromised and underdelivered."

More recently, Bongino has distanced himself from past conspiracy theories he advanced as a commentator.

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity this month, he said, "I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions ... one day I'll be back in that space, but that's not what I'm paid for now. I'm paid to be your deputy director, and we base investigations on facts."

Bongino's expected exit adds to the scrutiny facing FBI Director Kash Patel, particularly over the ongoing investigation into a Dec. 13 mass shooting at Brown University that killed two and injured nine. Patel prematurely announced the detention of a person of interest, who was later released without charges.

The FBI declined to comment on Bongino's plans.

And there you have it, America: After years of Democrats turning the FBI into a weapon against political enemies, the Trump team's picks—Bondi, Patel and Bongino—have reduced the bureau to a bungling sideshow.

From the mishandled Epstein files to the stalled Charlie Kirk assassination probe, the unresolved Trump assassination attempts, the dormant Jan. 6 pipe bomb case and now this farce at Brown University—with agents reportedly combing snow for evidence—Trump's base is furious at the sheer incompetence on display.