Who will be the next FBI Director? Trump's Search Stall as Russia Investigation Expands
BY MAX KUTNER ON 5/24/17 AT 2:41 PM
Before leaving for his overseas trip, President Donald Trump told reporters that he would nominate a new FBI director “very soon” and that former Senator Joe Lieberman was a top pick. But the president is no closer to naming a replacement for James Comey, whom he fired on May 9, CNN reported on Wednesday.
The search team the White House appointed to find a new director has hit reset, according to CNN, citing an unnamed senior administration official. The press offices of the White House and the Department of Justice did not respond to Newsweek’s requests for comment on the report.
When President Bill Clinton fired FBI Director William Sessions in July 1993, the only other time in the bureau’s history that a president dismissed a director, Clinton nominated his replacement the next day. After two weeks, the Senate confirmed the replacement, Louis Freeh, and he was sworn in about a month after that. But Trump’s search seems to have stalled. At least five contenders have withdrawn their names from consideration for the position: former Assistant United States Attorney General Alice Fisher, New York State Court of Appeals Associate Judge Michael Garcia, Senator John Cornyn, U.S. Representative Trey Gowdy and former FBI official Richard McFeely.
The president interviewed candidates on May 17 and said he could name his pick by the end of the week. The following day, citing several White House officials and advisers, Politico reported that Lieberman was the front-runner. The president was also considering former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating and acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe. Earlier in the search process, he had considered former Republican congressman Mike Rogers and Fran Townsend, who had been an adviser to President George W. Bush.
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http://www.newsweek.com/fbi-director-trump-nomination-stalls-reset-lieberman-comey-russia-614981
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