The Trump administration is considering nearly a dozen candidates — a list that includes top current and former lawmakers as well as law enforcement figures — to replace fired FBI Director James Comey, a White House official briefed on the matter told Fox News on Friday.
The timeline for a nomination is unclear, but the official said they are moving quickly.
“We are moving quickly and expeditiously to pick an interim and a permanent replacement, and we’re doing our due diligence—we’re not going to cut any corners,” the source told Fox News.
The roster of contenders is extensive, including some names already reported such as former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as well as lesser-known law enforcement officials.
Kelly has long been known to Trump from his days serving as NYPD commissioner. Kelly spent nearly five decades in the NYPD serving in different commands. After his handling of the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, Kelly was mentioned as a possible candidate for FBI Director. Kelly also was Director of Police under the United Nations mission in Haiti, also serving in the Clinton administration as Treasury Department Undersecretary for Enforcement. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., endorsed Kelly as a candidate for secretary of Homeland Security during President Obama’s first term, and later to head the FBI in 2011 when Robert Mueller stepped down from the post.
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