President-elect Donald Trump reacted quickly to protests from supporters who believed that he would choose Mike Rogers as director of the FBI.
Trump’s long-serving advisor and social media director Dan Scavino delivered an update on the idea on Friday morning on his X account.
‘Just spoke to President Trump regarding Mike Rogers going to the FBI,’ he wrote. ‘It’s not happening — In his own words, “I have never even given it a thought.” Not happening.’
Rogers, a former FBI agent, congressman, and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, ran unsuccessfully for Senator of Michigan in November but was a rumored contender for the position after he met with the Trump transition team at Mar-a-Lago.
Key MAGA figureheads started protesting the idea after learning that former deputy director of the FBI Andrew McCabe endorsed the idea of Rogers leading the law enforcement agency.
McCabe described Rogers as a “totally reasonable, logical selection” to lead the agency, in an interview on CNN and warned against Trump choosing MAGA loyalist Kash Patel.
“It’s inconceivable to me that an outsider with no experience in the organization, no knowledge of the work and the scope of authority that’s involved there could perform adequately,” McCabe said.
That only fueled MAGA support for Patel, an unabashed Trump loyalist who gives some Republicans pause, after he served roles at the National Security Council and Defense Department in Trump’s first term.
Republican Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks during an election night watch party,
Patel frequently voices his contempt for the ‘deep state’ within the national security and intelligence establishment, vowing to dramatically reform the agencies if appointed by Trump to a position in either of the departments.
