Under MAGA pressure, Trump rejects ‘RINO’ who wanted FBI job

Mike Rogers is out.
The Republican lawmaker who was vying for the top post at the FBI won’t be appointed by President-elect Donald Trump amid backlash from MAGA loyalists who argued Rogers was a “Republican in Name Only.”
“Just spoke to President Trump regarding Mike Rogers going to the FBI. It’s not happening — In his own words, “I have never even given it a thought.” Not happening,” Trump senior advisor Dan Scavino Jr. posted to X.
“Mike Rogers was indeed seen at Mar-a-Lago in recent days, but amid pushback from the MAGA-wing, Scavino says he won’t become FBI director,” CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported.
More from Collins: “Mike Rogers this am on Fox: “People have lost faith in the FBI. And they don’t even know it. Somebody like me? I can restore that faith.” We reported last night that Trump is considering putting Rogers + Kash Patel at the FBI together, in attempt to please both Senate Rs and MAGA loyalists.”
Trump is widely expected to sack FBI Director Christopher Wray before his tenure ends. Trump appointed Wray to the position during his first term.
Some allies of Trump, including conservative strategist Steve Bannon, have been pushing Trump loyalist Patel for the position. He’s a trusted aide in Trump’s orbit.
There is little daylight between Patel and Trump: Patel has made it clear that he is in lockstep with the former president on most national security issues, including purging government officials deemed disloyal.
Many who worked with Patel before he joined the Trump administration said he was an ambitious if not exceptional lawyer whose quick rise and far-right tilt have left them stunned.
Tom Rooney, a former Republican congressman, worked with Patel on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He described Patel as a smart and focused staffer, but said he hardly recognizes the man loudly defending the Jan. 6 rioters on far-right podcasts and radio shows.
“It’s not the same person that I knew,” Rooney said. “But Kash is still relevant and I’m not, so who’s the smart one?”
After graduating from law school at Pace University, Patel failed to get a job at the prestigious law firms he’d hoped to join. Instead, he became a public defender, and spent nearly nine years in local and federal courts in Miami before joining the Justice Department.
After working there for about three years, Patel was hired as a staffer for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence led by Rep. Devin Nunes, a fierce Trump ally.
Nunes gave Patel a job running the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. Patel ultimately helped author what became known as the “Nunes Memo,” a four-page report that detailed how it said the Justice Department had erred in obtaining a warrant to surveil a former Trump campaign volunteer. The memo’s release faced vehement opposition from the Justice Department. A subsequent inspector general report identified significant problems with FBI surveillance during the Russia investigation, but also found no evidence that the FBI had acted with partisan motives in conducting the probe.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Matt Arco may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.