How Dan Bongino Would Run the F.B.I., According to Dan Bongino

To hear Dan Bongino describe it, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is “the single most corrupt law enforcement institution” in America and a “full-blown leftist political action committee” devoted to covering up Democratic crimes and withholding the truth from the American people.

“It is time for an absolute housecleaning,” he said in 2023.

Now Mr. Bongino — the longtime right-wing pundit, podcaster and vocal ally of President Trump — has been tapped to serve as the agency’s new deputy director. His podcast and radio show will end production on March 14.

The job, which does not require Senate confirmation, has traditionally been filled by a senior agent with vast operational experience and a deep understanding of how the bureau’s various divisions work. The last two deputy directors together had more than 35 years of experience before they assumed the role. Mr. Bongino served as a police officer and a U.S. Secret Service agent years ago, but has no experience with the F.B.I.

Mr. Bongino’s precise plans for the agency remain opaque, but on recent podcasts he has said he would rid the agency of politicization and focus on crimes like drug dealing — despite the bureau’s broad mandate to protect national security, investigate crimes and root out corruption by public officials at all levels.

Taken together, Mr. Bongino’s years of comments on his radio show and podcast have painted a vision for “dramatic change” at the F.B.I., as he put it last week. Those ideas largely align with criticisms put forth by his friend Kash Patel, who was recently confirmed as the director of the agency. Some of their ideas, however, would probably require additional funding.

The F.B.I. declined to comment, but it recently rejected charges of “corruption” leveled by a Republican cabinet secretary, saying such claims are not “supported by any evidence” and “undermine the men and women of the F.B.I.”