Dem
47
GOP
53
It has been widely expected—and we've written it several times—that as Trump v2.0 hits the 1-year mark, there will be a number of people purged. Yesterday, the first high-profile domino fell, as Donald Trump announced that Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino will leave his post early next year, something that Bongino confirmed on social media shortly thereafter.
This writing has been on the wall since mid-September, when Andrew Bailey was ALSO appointed as Deputy FBI Director. This is a job that is usually filled by one person, primarily for "the buck stops here" reasons. You don't appoint a second person (and one who is far more qualified, as Bailey was previously the Missouri AG) unless the first person isn't getting the job done, and isn't long for their posting.
From Bongino's end, the problem was that he didn't really like the work, and he really didn't like the salary. It's way easier to sit in a room for a few hours a day, recording whatever fool thoughts come into your head, than it is to go to endless meetings and do other bureaucratic tasks. He also reportedly earned $5 million a year as a podcaster, as compared to his current salary of $221,000. The staff mathematician had a bit too much egg nog last night, but was nonetheless able to confirm that $5 million is more than $221,000.
From the administration's end, the problem is that Bongino clashed with other key players, most obviously "Attorney General" Pam Bondi. It was not too much of a secret that, sooner or later, Bongino would return to his podcasting gig. And so, he was trying to maintain his conspiratorial credibility while also trying to lead the organization that was the subject of most of his conspiratorial thinking. Not an easy line to walk, and the main way this manifested was by him carping constantly about the Epstein files, and Bondi's failure to release them. Needless to say, if you cross Pam Bondi, you cross her puppet master, Stephen Miller. And there's no better way to get yourself cashiered, except perhaps crossing Trump himself.
So, Bongino is out, leaving the Trump administration with only 30 or 40 more highly problematic high-level appointees. (Z)