Washington– The head of the FBI’s New York field office was named associate deputy director of the bureau, replacing him Dan Bongino After his recent passing, an FBI spokesman said Friday.
Christopher Raya, who helped lead the response to Deadly truck attack in New Orleans On New Year’s Day last year, he was tapped to run the New York office in April after serving as a senior counterterrorism official at FBI headquarters. A former Coast Guard officer, Raya joined the FBI in 2003 and, during a career spanning two decades, investigated violent, drug and gang crimes as well as overseeing counterterrorism and national security investigations.
As an FBI agent, Raya is a more traditional pick for the FBI’s No. 2 job than Bongino, a popular conservative podcaster who previously worked as a Secret Service agent but had never worked for the FBI until he was selected by the Trump administration last year.
Raya is expected to serve as associate deputy director alongside her andrew bailey, Former Missouri Attorney General who was appointed to the position last August. It is scheduled to start next week.
He became head of the New York field office after his predecessor, James Dennehy, reportedly resisted Justice Department efforts to vet agents who participated in politically sensitive investigations. He was forced to retire.
Bongino announced last month that he was leaving the office after a short and turbulent period. He officially ended his term last week.
No immediate successor to Raya has been named in New York.