Dan Bongino attends 2022 FOX Nation Patriot Awards at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in Hollywood, Fla., on Nov. 17, 2022. Jason Koerner/Getty Images

Dan Bongino, a conservative commentator and former Secret Service agent, has been named the next deputy director of the FBI.

FBI Director Kash Patel selected Bongino for the post, according to President Donald Trump. The position does not require Senate confirmation.

In a post on Truth Social announcing Bongino’s appointment, Trump described him as “a man of incredible love and passion” for the country. Bongino currently hosts The Dan Bongino Show, one of the biggest political podcasts in the United States.

“Great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice!” Trump stated, adding that the podcaster is “willing and prepared to give up” his show to take on the new role.

Trump praised Bongino’s family in another post, stating: “Another aspect of the life of Dan Bongino that I think is very important. He has a great wife, Paula, and two wonderful daughters who truly love their dad.”Following the announcement, Bongino took to the social media platform X to express gratitude to both Trump and Patel, as well as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, for giving him the role. The FBI is part of the Department of Justice, which is now led by Bondi.Related StoriesBongino worked as a New York City police officer before joining the Secret Service in 1999. He had previously served in the Presidential Protective Division during the administrations of President George W. Bush and President Barrack Obama. He also hosted a Fox News show until April 2023.

He ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland in 2012 and for congressional seats in 2014 and 2016 in Maryland and Florida, but was unsuccessful in all three races.

Bongino was among several conservative media personalities who led the way in questioning the Trump-Russia narrative, which dogged President Donald Trump during his first term. As part of that commentary, he criticized the leadership of the FBI and the Department of Justice, as well as those who oversaw the investigation into the president and his associates

In a Feb. 21 episode of his podcast, Bongino celebrated Patel’s confirmation to lead the FBI.

“Kash Patel is there for one reason. He is there to make the FBI great again. Folks, if we do not have a credible deterrent to spies in this country, counterintelligence to terrorists that are planning plots here openly, some coordination entity for both transnational and interstate crime, we’re not going to have a country,” Bongino said. “Kash is committed to that and not only.”

Patel was sworn in as FBI director on Feb. 22 after being confirmed by the Senate in a 51–49 vote. He has vowed to restore the FBI’s credibility and make it an agency the American people can trust. During the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 30, he said “there will be no retributive actions taken by any FBI” if he is confirmed as FBI director.“The American people deserve an FBI that is transparent, accountable, and committed to justice. The politicalization of our justice system has eroded public trust—but that ends today,” Patel stated on Feb. 21. “My mission as Director is clear: let good cops be cops—and rebuild trust in the FBI.”