The campaign to put former Michigan Republican Mike Rogers at the helm of the FBI seems to have come to an end. Rogers, who narrowly lost his bid for a Senate seat, had been touted as the favorite on the strength of his experience as an FBI special agent and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee after interviewing for the job at Mar-a-Lago. Friday, Dan Scavino, a major figure in Trump's transition team and his deputy chief of staff in Trump 1.0, threw cold water on that speculation.
Just spoke to President Trump regarding Mike Rogers going to the FBI. It’s not happening — In his own words, “I have never even given it a thought.” Not happening.
— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) November 22, 2024
"Just spoke to President Trump regarding Mike Rogers going to the FBI," wrote Scavino. "It’s not happening — In his own words, “I have never even given it a thought.” Not happening."
When the word broke that Mike Rogers was the leading contender to replace the hopelessly compromised Christopher Wray, the online reaction was quick and negative despite Rogers's sterling resume.
Mike Rogers called Jan 6 protesters guilty of “seditious acts” the following day
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) November 22, 2024
In 2017, the @FBI Agents Association endorsed him as a possible FBI Director replacement after James Comey was fired
He’s 💯 wrong for MAGA, 🇺🇸, and President Trump pic.twitter.com/74apxtVgqD
Here is Mike Rogers declaring his full support for FISA wiretapping
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) November 19, 2024
He also says he wishes the Intel Community didn’t need a warrant
People want him as FBI Director
Be a shame if this went viralpic.twitter.com/DAfVcDMQR9
Putting Mike Rogers at the head of the FBI wouldn’t be bad. It would be catastrophic. The Cheka must be cleaned out by the next director and Mike Rogers would view his role as protecting it.
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) November 22, 2024
Catastrophic. Trump needs to be warned in the strongest possible terms about this. https://t.co/olGiMPt7B7
Nominating Rogers would merely repeat Trump's errors during his first term of picking people to lead agencies from within that agency, think Jim Mattis and Rod Rosenstein, and expecting them to reform a system that nurtured and rewarded them. It just is not going to happen. In the FBI, Trump faces an agency openly in revolt against him and implacably hostile to Trump and many of his core constituencies, from pro-lifers to conservative Catholics to gun owners. Former FBI goon Andy McCabe inadvertently points to the problem in his defense of Rogers.
Former Trump FBI deputy director and CNN senior law enforcement analyst Andrew McCabe said Thursday that Rogers would be a “totally reasonable, logical selection” to nominate to lead the agency, pointing to his knowledge of the intelligence community and his experience at the FBI. But McCabe cautioned against empowering Patel, saying on CNN’s “The Source” that “no part of the FBI’s mission is safe with Kash Patel in any position of leadership in the FBI. And certainly not in the deputy director’s job.”
“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, who Trump fired from his post hours before his retirement in 2018, said.
The very fact that McCabe approved probably drove a stake through Rogers's chances. If it didn't, it should have.
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