Kash Patel and Donald Trump

Photo: AP

Former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers has been ruled out as the Republican pick for FBI director, a senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump confirmed Friday. That gives the former National Security Council official an edge. Kash PatelThe agency’s current head, Christopher Wray, is likely to be replaced by the president-elect when he takes over the White House in January. He was appointed by Trump in 2017 for a 10-year term.

After days of speculation that Rogers was the front-runner to replace Wray, senior Trump adviser Daniel Scavino Jr. said the president-elect was not looking at the former senator as a candidate.

“Just talked to President Trump about Mike Rogers going to the FBI. It’s not happening — in his own words, “I never thought about it.” It’s not happening,” Scavino said. , the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Earlier this week, NBC cited sources as saying that Kash Patel was being considered for Wray’s job. He is also being considered to lead the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Vice President-elect JD Vance revealed in a now-deleted tweet that Trump is interviewing candidates for the role. The Ohio Sen. said: “When this 11th Circuit vote happened, I was meeting with President Trump to interview him for a number of positions for our government. was, including for the director of the FBI.”

Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in 2017 for refusing to close an investigation into possible collusion between the then-presidential campaign and Russia.