WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump tapped Christopher Wray, a high-ranking official in George W. Bush's Justice Department, to replace James Comey as head of the FBI.
Senate Republicans and some Democrats praised the nomination.
In an early-morning two-sentence tweet, Trump said he intended to nominate Wray and in a later statement called Wray "an impeccably qualified individual."
"I know that he will again serve his country as a fierce guardian of the law and model of integrity once the Senate confirms him to lead the FBI," Trump said.
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Wray said he was honored to be selected.
"I look forward to serving the American people with integrity as the leader of what I know firsthand to be an extraordinary group of men and women who have dedicated their careers to protecting this country," he said.
Wray rose to head the Justice Department's criminal division in the Bush administration and oversaw investigations into corporate fraud, at a time when Comey was deputy attorney general. Wray took charge of a task force of prosecutors and FBI agents created to investigate the Enron scandal.
Wray is a traditional choice for the job. Trump had considered current and former politicians, including former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and some FBI agents worried that Trump would try to politicize the bureau.
Lawmakers had little or no advance notice of Trump's choice. The response in the Republican-controlled Senate, where Wray would need only a simple majority vote, was supportive but cautious.
"Christopher Wray's legal credentials and law enforcement background certainly make him a suitable candidate to lead the FBI," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Grassley said it could take "a couple weeks" to receive all of Wray's nomination paperwork before the committee begins considering his nomination. After this week, Congress is in session for only six weeks before the five-week August recess.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised Wray, saying his "impressive credentials make him more than ready for the sober task of leading the FBI in fulfilling its law enforcement and national security missions, especially at a time when our country faces so many serious threats both at home and abroad."
Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat on the Judiciary panel, said he, too, was encouraged that Trump's pick is a veteran of law enforcement "rather than a career in partisan politics, as was rumored over the past several weeks."
Wray's nomination is sure to be caught up by questions from both parties -- but especially Democrats -- over whether he will be able to be independent of Trump, how he will handle the investigation into Russia's election meddling and how he will interact with special counsel Robert Mueller.
"In light of the president's constant efforts to block the truth," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the minority leader, "the nomination of Christopher Wray should be subject to the utmost scrutiny."
"The FBI is responsible for some of our nation's most important investigations and needs a professional who is willing to stand up to the administration when necessary," Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said.
Wray works in private practice for the King & Spalding law firm. He represented Christie, a Trump ally, in the George Washington Bridge investigation, in which two former aides to the Republican governor were convicted of plotting to close bridge lanes to punish a Democratic mayor who wouldn't endorse Christie. During tense times, Christie said, he would make one call: to Wray.
The two met and bonded when Christie was the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey in the Bush administration. Christie said the president made an "outstanding choice" for FBI director, calling Wray an independent, nonpolitical pick.
"When I was at the absolute lowest point of my professional life, he was who I called. I don't think you can give a better recommendation than that," Christie told reporters after Wray was nominated. "And it's not like I don't know a lot of lawyers."
Christie, who has informally advised Trump, was not charged in the bridge case.
Christie's office disclosed last year that Wray had the missing cellphone that was used by the governor and contained about a dozen text messages that Christie exchanged with a former staff member during a legislative hearing related to the bridge in 2013.
Serious, professional
Former colleagues described Wray as serious and professional.
Alice Fisher, who followed Wray as head of the Justice Department's criminal division and also interviewed for the FBI post, called Wray "an excellent lawyer who will provide even-keeled leadership" and already has strong ties to the FBI.
Early in his career, Wray, a 1992 graduate from Yale Law School, was an assistant U.S. attorney in Georgia.
Thomas O'Connor, president of the FBI Agents Association, said that group looked forward to meeting with Wray and learning about his views on the bureau and the challenges agents face.
The pick caps an extraordinary period in which Trump has been buffeted by his own shifting explanations for why he dismissed Comey on May 9, allegations that he shared highly classified information with top Russian officials in the Oval Office and the naming of a special counsel to oversee the investigation into his campaign's possible ties with Russia.
Trump met Tuesday with his two finalists, Wray and John Pistole, a former deputy director of the FBI and head of the Transportation Security Administration, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. The president had hoped to quickly pick a replacement for Comey before he embarked on his nine-day overseas trip in mid-May but was dissuaded from doing so by many of his top advisers, including the chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and Donald McGahn, the White House counsel.
Wray played a pivotal role in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, providing oversight of Justice Department operations as the country adjusted to a new reality and working alongside Comey and Mueller, then the FBI director and now the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation. As head of the criminal division from 2003 to 2005, Wray directed efforts to deal with fraud scandals plaguing the corporate world.
Wray has donated consistently to Republican candidates in recent years. Over the past decade, he has contributed at least $35,000 to Republican candidates or committees, according to data maintained by the Federal Election Commission. He did not do so during the 2016 election, but he has donated to past Republican presidential nominees, including $2,300 to support Sen. John McCain of Arizona in 2008 and $7,500 to back Mitt Romney in 2012.
Information for this article was contributed by Sadie Gurman, Mary Clare Jalonick, Catherine Lucey and Michael Catalini of The Associated Press and by Glenn Thrush, Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Adam Goldman and Robert Pear of The New York Times.
A Section on 06/08/2017