Bailey will now serve alongside Bongino in the number-two role, Patel and Bondi confirmed to Fox News Digital, which first broke the story. Bongino, who was appointed as the FBI’s sole deputy director earlier this year, shocked colleagues in July when he largely isolated himself from internal operations following the Epstein files dispute.

Now the Trump administration is changing that, as Trump-appointed FBI Director Kash Patel is moving to reorder the agency’s priorities with little input from Congress or the public.

The bureau must remain an independent law-enforcement agency that is protected from political interference.