Former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is stepping down as co-deputy director of the FBI after a little more than a year and returning to Missouri.
“With great pride in what we have accomplished, I am announcing that I am stepping down to return to my family in Missouri,” Bailey wrote Monday on X. “I am confident Director [Kash] Patel will continue to reform the FBI, combat violent crime, defend the homeland, ensure strong organizational accountability and restore public trust in this institution of excellence.”
Bailey’s last day is expected to be Friday, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He joined the FBI in September 2025 after leaving the Missouri attorney general’s office.
Bailey initially shared the deputy director role with Dan Bongino and later with Christopher Raia, a longtime FBI agent. The arrangement was unusual because the bureau traditionally has had one deputy director.
Patel praised Bailey in a post on X, saying he made a “fantastic contribution instituting critical reforms” at the bureau.
Bailey’s longtime friend and former campaign manager, James Lawson, told The Kansas City Star that Bailey plans to spend time with his wife and four children after returning to Missouri. Lawson said Bailey also will be watching Missouri’s political landscape in the coming months but did not identify any office he might seek.
Bailey was appointed Missouri attorney general in 2022 and won election to the office in 2024. His tenure included several high-profile actions in the St. Louis region, including an effort to remove then-St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery from office and the prosecution of St. Louis County Executive Sam Page over county-funded mailers related to a 2025 ballot measure.
Page has pleaded not guilty, and the case remains pending. His trial is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2027.
Gov. Mike Kehoe appointed Catherine Hanaway to replace Bailey as attorney general when Bailey left for the FBI.