Ray stated that he does not wish to involve the FBI in the political struggle with the new head of the White House, Donald Trump.
"The elected president has made it clear that he intends to make changes, and by law, he can do so for any reason or even without one. I have concluded that it is best for the Bureau to try to do this in an orderly manner to avoid dragging the FBI further into the fight," he said.
The channel notes that Ray is leaving three years before the end of his term. Trump "became disillusioned with him" after the FBI began investigating the events at the Capitol following the 2020 election, journalists believe.
The FBI chief stated in an interview that the investigation "was guided by the facts, wherever they led, regardless of who liked it," and that "the truth is the truth, and it does not have to be what one side wants it to be."
Trump will nominate his advisor Kash Patel for the position of FBI director; he wrote about this on December 1, 2024, on his social network Truth Social. The nomination will need to be approved by the U.S. Senate.