Senior advisor to President-elect Donald J. Trump, Dan Scavino, has dismissed speculation regarding the potential appointment of former Representative Mike Rogers as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director. On Friday, Scavino posted on X that President-elect Trump has not considered Rogers for the position, stating, “I have never even given it a thought.”
Rogers, a former congressman from Michigan, was a candidate in the state’s Senate race in November but was defeated by Representative Elissa Slotkin. Despite not being publicly mentioned by Trump as a contender, Rogers had recently been discussed as a possible candidate for the FBI leadership.
Simultaneously, former Trump advisor Kash Patel is reportedly being considered for the FBI director role.
Patel has garnered online backing from prominent supporters of the Trump agenda. Critics of Rogers within this group have noted his alignment with the intelligence community, suggesting this indicates he might not fully support Trump’s agenda.
Rogers wanted to keep documents relating to the 2016 Russia hoax secret, including a Republican memo that criticized the FBI for using politically motivated sources like the Steele Dossier, created by disgraced former British spy Christopher Steele.
Patel, meanwhile, is a Trump loyalist who was an ardent critic of those in the media and in politics who spread the fake Russia hoax allegations.
So far, President-elect Trump has nominated several key cabinet and White House positions, but his initial pick for Attorney General, Matt Gaetz, dropped out earlier this week after he could not convince four Republican Senators, including former Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, to support him.