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Senate Confirms Christopher Wray As New FBI Director

Wray was voted in with overwhelming support from the Senate.
Posted at 9:26 PM, Aug 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-01 21:26:09-04

On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Christopher Wray as the FBI's new director.

A lawyer and former assistant attorney general, Wray has pledged he would remain independent from political pressure. If asked by the president to do something unlawful, Wray said he would "try to talk him out of it, and if that failed, I would resign."

This testimony gained overwhelming support from the Senate, and with the vote 92-5, there was little opposition to Wray's confirmation. Back in July, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced his nomination.

Wray's confirmation comes months after President Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey. As a result of that decision, Trump has been accused of impeding the bureau's Russia investigation. Since then, former FBI Director Robert Mueller has been leading the investigation. 

And during his confirmation hearing, Wray stated he would support Mueller's work. 

"The first thing I would do, if confirmed, is to reach out to former Director Mueller and elicit his advice about what it is he needs and whether he's getting it from the FBI," Wray said.