Washington: US President Donald Trump has appointed right-wing commentator Dan Bongino as deputy director of the FBI, media reports said.
Trump posted on social media that Bongino was “a man of incredible love and passion for our Country” and would serve under newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, the BBC reported.
Bongino, 50, is former NYPD and Secret Service and worked as part of the protection detail for two presidents – George W Bush and Barack Obama.
According to reports, he hosts a self-titled podcast whose Facebook posts often attract more attention than those of Fox News and CNN combined.
“Thank you Mr President, Attorney General Bondi, and Director Patel,” Bongino wrote on X in a post after Trump’s announcement.
Trump said in his social media announcement on Sunday that Bongino is “willing and prepared to give up” the podcast “in order to serve”.
“Fairness, Justice, Law and Order will be brought back to America, and quickly,” Trump added.
He said Bongino would do an “incredible job” at the FBI.
Bongino, who has run for Congress three times, hosted the now-president on his daily podcast, The Dan Bongino Show, ahead of last year’s election, the report said.
Episodes of his programme from the last week include titles such as “Trump Keeps Delivering And The Libs Are Seething” and “The Only People Who Love Crime Are Criminals!!!”
Talking about his career as a prolific conservative political commentator, Bongino said in 2018: “My life is all about owning the libs now.”
With a combative persona, he can often be found firing back at Trump’s detractors on X, including a long-running spat with horror author Stephen King.
Bongino’s new FBI boss Patel was last week narrowly confirmed by the Senate to the lead the law-enforcement agency that he has long attacked, the report.
Democrats had warned he would seek retribution against Trump’s enemies, although the former prosecutor has denied any plans to pursue political vendettas and has promised to “rebuild” the bureau.
