Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said he would not keep FBI Director Christopher Wray in his job if elected president in 2024.
DeSantis, who announced his presidential candidacy on Wednesday night, made the comments in an interview on Fox News in the aftermath of special counsel John Durham’s report on FBI misconduct in the investigation of former President Donald Trump and Russia.
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“No, I would not keep Chris Wray as director of the FBI,” DeSantis said in response to a question from former Rep. Trey Gowdy, the South Carolina Republican who was hosting the show. “There would be a new one on day one.”
Gowdy and DeSantis both served on the House Judiciary Committee while in Congress.
Wray was originally appointed in 2017 by Trump to replace former FBI Director James Comey. Congressional Republicans have become increasingly critical of his tenure. Wray has four years left on his term but can be fired by the president.
“I think that’s very important,” DeSantis said of replacing Wray.
The Florida governor also pledged to appoint an attorney general with a “really strong backbone.”
Republican questions about the Justice Department and the FBI have intensified since the release of Durham’s report, which outlined what the special counsel described as systemic problems.
The Trump-Russia investigation consumed much of the last Republican president’s term.
Trump is DeSantis’s main rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Trump sparred with both Attorneys General Jeff Sessions and William Barr. DeSantis is presenting himself as a more effective leader than Trump.
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“I think the DOJ and the FBI have lost their way,” DeSantis said. “I think that they’ve been weaponized against Americans who think like me and you. And I think that they’ve become very partisan.”
DeSantis earlier said that if nominated, he would win the presidency.
