Acting FBI Director Paul Abbate retires just minutes before Trump takes office: report

Abbate, who took the helm from Wray, stepped down from the bureau just a day later, the New York Times reported.

"When the director asked me to stay on past my mandatory date for a brief time, I did so to help ensure continuity and the best transition for the F.B.I. Now, with new leadership inbound, after nearly four years in the deputy role, I am departing the F.B.I.," Abbate wrote in an internal email on Monday, according to the New York Times. "I have complete confidence in you and in your ability as a team to continue to carry out our mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution."

Wray selected Abbate as deputy FBI director in 2021 and extended his length of service. At 57, Abbate is the mandatory retirement age for some FBI agents, according to the New York Times.

Trump decried the "weaponization" of the Justice Department during his 2024 presidential campaign, and he has since tapped Kash Patel to lead the FBI. Patel's Senate confirmation hearing has not yet been scheduled.

"The scales of justice will be rebalanced," Trump said in his inauguration speech. "The vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end."