Dan Bongino To Join Kash Patel at FBI as Deputy Director

President Trump has selected Dan Bongino—an outspoken Trump ally and a top conservative commentator—to serve as the FBI’s deputy director.

Bongino, known for his popular podcast, former Fox News show, service in the New York City Police Department, and 12 years with the Secret Service, is a close associate of newly appointed FBI Director Kash Patel. Trump announced on Truth Social Sunday that Bongino will now work under Patel as his second-in-command at the bureau.

Trump’s decision to pick Bongino came just three days after the Senate confirmed Patel’s nomination by a 49–51 vote, with Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine as the only Republicans opposing Patel. The move signals Trump’s determination to enact sweeping changes at the FBI.

Bongino and Patel—who was previously a public defender, a Justice Department lawyer, and has become a prominent MAGA figure—will both report to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Their mandate is to identify threats and bolster national security.

While Patel’s background includes legal and high-level intelligence roles during Trump’s first term, Bongino brings hands-on law enforcement expertise from his time in the police and Secret Service. Both have strongly criticized the FBI’s involvement in the investigations targeting Trump since 2017, including the flawed foreign intelligence court applications connected to the Trump-Russia probe.

Bongino’s appointment gives Patel a deputy equally committed to ending political bias within the FBI and to conducting thorough inquiries into the would-be attackers who nearly harmed Trump in the closing stages of the campaign. On his podcast, Bongino has labeled the FBI’s 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago “a disgrace” and “third-world garbage,” and he has repeatedly condemned the bureau’s role in investigating the January 6 Capitol breach, as well as its subsequent raids and arrests. Both Bongino and Patel stood at the forefront of Trump’s 2020 election fraud claims.

In his book “Spygate,” Bongino detailed what he calls the FBI’s altered surveillance requests and improper surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser in 2016—topics that also feature in his other books criticizing “deep state” conspirators against Trump. Through his podcasts and radio shows, he has consistently gone after top FBI and CIA officials, such as former CIA Director John Brennan, accusing them of trying to undermine Trump’s first term and manipulate the 2016 and 2020 elections.

In recent days, Bongino has described himself as feeling “on fire” about the Trump administration’s latest changes, calling it “an endless celebration.”

“Kash is happening—it’s going down,” Bongino said on his podcast Friday. “Reform is happening everywhere. It’s the Golden Age of Republican politics via MAGA. Thank you, President Trump.”

However, Bongino’s new role at the FBI will require him to leave the conservative media arena and divest from his media ventures, a move that will likely cost him tens of millions of dollars. His devoted fan base, known as the “Bongino Army,” will be left without their usual leader for at least a year.

The Dan Bongino Show on Rumble is currently the top conservative podcast in the U.S., placing behind only “NPR News Now” and “Up First” from NPR in monthly downloads, according to Triton Digital’s podcast rankings. LiveSearchApp’s data also consistently shows Bongino leading in livestream audience numbers.

Bongino’s podcast network has expanded in recent years. Last year, Evita Duffy—daughter of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy—launched “The Early Edition,” airing two hours before Bongino’s show each day. Just last week, Bongino announced podcaster Hayley Caronia would join his team to provide nightly reports.

Bongino’s rise in conservative media followed multiple unsuccessful bids for Congress. He hosted shows on NRATV and Fox News before leaving Fox in 2023 over disagreements about his role. After Rush Limbaugh’s death in 2021, Bongino took over Limbaugh’s coveted time slot, facing competition from other conservative hosts like Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. Bongino’s star power was amplified by frequent appearances from President Trump—who was his first guest in the new time slot—and Bongino made headlines by urging Trump to run in 2024.

Trump teased a run at the time, saying, “We are going to make you very happy, and we’re going to do what’s right,” fueling further speculation about his 2024 plans.