| Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the FBI | |
 Flag of the FBI | |
_(cropped).jpg) .jpg) | |
| Reports to | Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| Appointer | Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| Inaugural holder | Clyde Tolson (BOI) |
| Formation | 1930 (as Associate Director) |
| Deputy | Associate Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation |
Thedeputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (formerly known as theassociate director) is a seniorUnited States government position in theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The office is second in command to thedirector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. If the director is absent or the position is vacant, the deputy director automatically takes on the additional title and role of acting director. The office is also the highest position attainable within the FBI without being appointed by thepresident of the United States. Responsibilities as deputy director include assisting the director and leading prominent investigations. All other FBI executives and special agents in charge report to the director through the deputy director.
Dan Bongino has been the 20th deputy director in March 2025. In August 2025, the Department of Justice announced a co-deputy structure, with Missouri attorney generalAndrew Bailey appointed to serve alongside Bongino. Bailey assumed the role September 8, 2025 after resigning as attorney general.[1][2]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(September 2025) |
From 1978 to 1987, the position of deputy director was not filled due toWilliam Hedgcock Webster's decision to divide the deputy's responsibility between three positions.[citation needed]
| No. | Portrait | Officeholder | Term | Director | President | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | |||||
| 1 |  | Clyde Tolson | 1930 | May 2, 1972 | J. Edgar Hoover | Herbert Hoover |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | ||||||
| Harry S. Truman | ||||||
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | ||||||
| John F. Kennedy | ||||||
| Lyndon B. Johnson | ||||||
| Richard Nixon | ||||||
| 2 |  | Mark Felt | May 3, 1972 | June 22, 1973 | Vacant | Richard Nixon |
| 3 |  | James B. Adams | June 22, 1973 | February 5, 1978 | Clarence M. Kelley | Richard Nixon |
| Gerald Ford | ||||||
| Jimmy Carter | ||||||
| 4 | April 6, 1978 | May 11, 1979 | William H. Webster | |||
| 5 |  | Floyd I. Clarke | May 11, 1979 | July 19, 1993 | ||
| Ronald Reagan | ||||||
| William S. Sessions | George H. W. Bush | |||||
| Bill Clinton | ||||||
| 6 |  | David G. Binney | February 1994 | December 1994 | Louis Freeh | |
| 7 | | Larry A. Potts | February 1995 | May 2, 1995 | ||
| May 2, 1995 | July 14, 1995 | |||||
| 8 | | Weldon L. Kennedy | August 8, 1995 | February 1997 | ||
| 9 | | William J. Esposito | February 28, 1997 | September 30, 1997[3] | ||
| 10 | | Robert M. Bryant[4] | October 1, 1997 | October 31, 1999 | ||
| 11 |  | Thomas J. Pickard | November 1, 1999 | November 30, 2001[5] | ||
| Thomas J. Pickard | Robert Mueller | George W. Bush | ||||
| 12 | | Bruce J. Gebhardt | 2002 | 2004 | ||
| 13 | .jpg) | John S. Pistole | October 1, 2004 | May 17, 2010 | ||
| Barack Obama | ||||||
| 14 |  | Timothy P. Murphy | July 8, 2010 | August 31, 2011 | ||
| 15 | .jpg) | Sean M. Joyce | September 1, 2011 | November 30, 2013 | ||
| James Comey | ||||||
| 16 |  | Mark F. Giuliano | December 1, 2013 | February 1, 2016 | ||
| 17 | .jpg) | Andrew McCabe | February 1, 2016[6] | January 29, 2018[7] | ||
| Donald Trump | ||||||
| Christopher A. Wray | ||||||
| 18 | .jpg) | David Bowdich | January 29, 2018 | April 13, 2018 | ||
| April 13, 2018 | February 1, 2021 | |||||
| 19 | .jpg) | Paul Abbate | February 1, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | Joe Biden | |
| – | | Robert Kissane Acting | January 20, 2025 | March 17, 2025 | Kash Patel | Donald Trump |
| 20 | | Dan Bongino | March 17, 2025 | Incumbent | ||
| - | | Andrew Bailey[a][1][2] | September 8, 2025 | |||
 | ||
Italics denotes an acting deputy director. | ||
