Dan Bongino is the 20th deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, appointed in February 2025 by President Donald Trump. A former Secret Service agent who protected Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, Bongino transitioned to conservative media, building one of America’s most popular podcasts before returning to federal law enforcement.
Who Is Dan Bongino?
Daniel John Bongino was born on December 4, 1974, and raised in Queens, New York City. His journey from New York City streets to the highest levels of federal law enforcement represents one of the most unconventional career paths in American politics and public service.
Bongino’s public service career began with the NYPD in 1995 as a police cadet assigned to assist in investigating pattern criminals. He became a full police officer in 1997, serving in the 75th precinct in Brooklyn until 1999. This early experience patrolling one of New York’s toughest neighborhoods shaped his law enforcement philosophy and provided the foundation for his later career.
He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the City University of New York and a master’s degree from Penn State University. His educational achievements demonstrate a commitment to professional development that would serve him throughout his career transitions.
Dan Bongino’s Secret Service Career
Joining the Elite
In 1999, Bongino joined the U.S. Secret Service as a special agent, assigned to the New York Field Office and subsequently the Melville, Long Island, Resident Office. Getting into the Secret Service at that time was intensely competitive, making his acceptance a significant achievement.
He received a Department of Justice award for his role in the successful investigation and prosecution of white collar criminals while assigned to the Financial Fraud Task Force. This recognition highlighted his investigative skills beyond protective duties.
Training the Next Generation
In 2002, Bongino was assigned to the U.S. Secret Service Training Center, where he taught criminal investigative methods. He was part of a team of special agents who redesigned the criminal investigative curriculum to reflect current trends and patterns in financial crimes. His contribution to training programs influenced how future agents approached financial investigations.
Presidential Protection
In 2005, Bongino was assigned to the Diplomatic Protective Division. In 2006, he was selected to join the elite Presidential Protective Division during the administration of President George W. Bush. Assignment to presidential protection represented the pinnacle of Secret Service work, reserved for the most trusted and capable agents.
Bongino became one of the earliest tenured agents to have responsibility for an operational section within the presidential detail and remained on presidential protective duty with President Barack Obama. His protection assignments included the coordination of President Obama’s visits to Prague, Jakarta, and Afghanistan as the lead agent. These international assignments required extensive planning and coordination under high-threat conditions.
However, Bongino was criticized by former colleagues at the Secret Service for using his Secret Service background as part of his run for political office and for his claim of having secret information based on conversations he overheard in the Obama White House. A former colleague accused him of trying to draw attention to himself and hijacking the Secret Service brand.
Return to Criminal Investigation
In 2010, Bongino concluded his protective duty assignment and returned to work on criminal investigative matters in the Baltimore Field Office. He served as the lead agent on a multimillion-dollar fraud investigation resulting in successful prosecutions. This work demonstrated his continued effectiveness in traditional law enforcement roles beyond protection.
Political Campaigns and Media Career
Congressional Runs
Bongino resigned from the Secret Service in 2011 to run for Congress as a Republican. His decision to leave a secure career surprised many colleagues and marked the beginning of his transition to public life.
He ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland in 2012, winning the Republican primary but losing in the general election, taking only 26.6% of the vote against incumbent Democrat Ben Cardin. Despite the loss, the campaign gave him a platform and name recognition.
In the 2014 election, Bongino ran for the U.S. House seat in Maryland’s 6th congressional district against incumbent Democrat John Delaney. Bongino narrowly lost to Delaney by 1.5 percentage points. This closer race demonstrated his growing political skills and appeal to voters.
He ran again in 2016 for a Florida congressional seat after relocating his family, but placed third in the Republican primary. After three unsuccessful campaigns, Bongino redirected his energy toward media and commentary.
Building a Media Empire
After his foiled congressional bids, Bongino turned his focus toward the media and started a podcast in his basement. Originally called The Renegade Republican, it touted downloads in the millions by September 2016. The podcast’s rapid growth exceeded industry expectations.
In March 2021, Cumulus Media signed Bongino to replace The Rush Limbaugh Show on its talk radio stations. Talkers Magazine estimated his radio show had 8.5 million listeners as of October 2021, ranking second among programs competing to succeed Limbaugh. This made him one of conservative radio’s most influential voices.
In May 2021, Fox News announced he would host Unfiltered with Dan Bongino, which premiered on June 5. The show ran until April 2023. His Fox News platform expanded his reach to millions of television viewers.
In January 2022, YouTube permanently banned Bongino for attempting to circumvent a temporary suspension related to a video questioning the efficacy of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the ban, he had already moved his podcast to Rumble. The YouTube ban became a rallying point for his audience about platform censorship.
According to Triton Digital’s US Podcast Ranker for February 2025, The Dan Bongino Show from the Cumulus Podcast Network secured the third position in both downloads and listeners charts, marking a notable climb before his March 14 departure to serve as FBI Deputy Director. His podcast had become one of America’s most listened-to political programs.
Bestselling Author
Bongino authored multiple books about his law enforcement career and political views. His first book, “Life Inside the Bubble: Why a Top-Ranked Secret Service Agent Walked Away from It All,” published in 2013, became a New York Times bestseller and detailed his experiences protecting presidents.
His 2016 book “The Fight: A Secret Service Agent’s Inside Account of Security Failings and the Political Machine” addressed security vulnerabilities and Washington corruption. Later works, including “Spygate: The Attempted Sabotage of Donald J. Trump” (2019), “Exonerated: The Failed Takedown of President Donald Trump by the Swamp” (2019), and “Follow the Money: The Shocking Deep State Connections of the Anti-Trump Cabal” (2020), focused on defending Trump against various investigations.
Several of his books achieved New York Times bestseller status, though some listings included a dagger symbol indicating bulk sales influenced rankings.
Appointment as FBI Deputy Director
The Announcement
On February 23, 2025, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Bongino would be the next deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The appointment shocked many in the law enforcement community, given Bongino had never worked for the FBI.
In his announcement, Trump touted Bongino as a patriot with incredible love and passion for the country and highlighted his extensive background in law enforcement. He noted that Bongino was willing and prepared to give up his popular daily radio show and podcast to serve.
Bongino took office on March 17, 2025. Unlike the FBI director, the position of deputy director does not require Senate confirmation. This allowed him to assume the role quickly without congressional hearings.
Controversial Pick
The deputy director serves as the FBI’s second-in-command and is traditionally a career agent responsible for the bureau’s day-to-day law enforcement operations. Bongino’s selection broke with this tradition, as he had never served in the FBI.
The choice of Bongino was a sign of blowback toward interim FBI leadership over its weeklong standoff with Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general, over his demand for names of FBI agents involved in the January 6, 2021, and Trump-related investigations. The appointment signaled a desire to reshape the bureau’s leadership.
Multiple news organizations reported that current FBI agents expressed shock and concern about the appointment. Many questioned whether someone without FBI experience could effectively manage the bureau’s complex domestic and international operations.
Past Criticism of the FBI
On his podcast, Bongino had repeatedly called for the FBI to be eliminated, its agents to be screened for loyalty and political bias, and mass firings. In September 2022, he said the only way to stop the FBI from becoming activists and bouncers for the Democrat party was imposing real material losses, firing everyone involved, and disbanding the entity.
Bongino had also suggested that FBI employees could be criminally and civilly responsible for what he viewed as crushing Americans’ civil liberties. He warned that the FBI had turned the United States into a police state and that Americans could eventually face mass systemic violence from the government. These statements created questions about how he would lead an agency he had harshly criticized.
Controversies in the Office
Epstein Files Dispute
On July 11, 2025, CNN reported that Bongino was considering resigning over the Department of Justice’s investigation into the death of Jeffrey Epstein. The controversy centered on disagreements about releasing investigative files.
Bongino did not go into the office on one Friday and largely excommunicated himself from most of his colleagues after a major fallout with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. As of Monday morning, no one in leadership at the Justice Department had spoken to Bongino since Wednesday, when he implied he could no longer continue in his position as long as Bondi was there.
Trump, asked whether Bongino was still the FBI’s deputy director, told reporters he thought so and indicated they had spoken. Trump said Bongino was a very good guy who sounded terrific and was in good shape. The president’s public support appeared aimed at tamping down speculation about Bongino’s departure.
Demotion to Co-Deputy Director
On August 18, 2025, The New York Times reported that Bongino was demoted to a co-Deputy Director role, with Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey being tapped for the other co-Deputy Director position. This unusual arrangement created questions about Bongino’s long-term future in the role.
The co-deputy director structure had no recent precedent in FBI history, suggesting behind-the-scenes tensions about Bongino’s performance or management approach.
Recent Work
In November 2025, Bongino announced on social media that three Chinese nationals were arrested in connection with an attempt to smuggle biological materials into the United States. The researchers were affiliated with the University of Michigan and charged with conspiracy to smuggle biological materials and making false statements to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers.
Bongino emphasized that the FBI Counterintelligence would not tolerate attempts to exploit American institutions to break the law and remained dedicated to protecting communities and educational institutions from such threats.
Dan Bongino’s Influence and Legacy
Conservative Media Impact
Bongino built one of conservative media’s most successful platforms through his combination of law enforcement credibility, political commentary, and confrontational style. His podcast consistently ranked among America’s top political programs, reaching millions of listeners weekly.
His transition from media back to law enforcement represents an unusual career arc. Most former agents who enter media remain there, but Bongino’s appointment demonstrated the Trump administration’s preference for loyalists with public platforms over traditional career bureaucrats.
Law Enforcement Philosophy
Throughout his career, Bongino has emphasized what he calls getting back to basics in law enforcement. He has advocated for focusing on traditional crime-fighting duties rather than what he views as political investigations. This philosophy aligns with Director Kash Patel’s stated goals for reshaping the FBI.
His background protecting presidents from both parties initially gave him bipartisan credibility, though his later political commentary and campaigns firmly positioned him in conservative circles. Former colleagues have noted a significant transformation from the agent they knew to the political commentator he became.
FAQs
Q: What is Dan Bongino’s current position?
A: Dan Bongino serves as deputy director of the FBI, a position he assumed in March 2025 after being appointed by President Trump.
Q: Did Dan Bongino serve in the Secret Service?
A: Yes, Bongino served as a U.S. Secret Service agent from 1999 to 2011, including protecting Presidents Bush and Obama on the Presidential Protective Division.
Q: Why did Dan Bongino leave the Secret Service?
A: Bongino resigned from the Secret Service in 2011 to run for political office, first running for U.S. Senate in Maryland.
Q: What happened to The Dan Bongino Show podcast?
A: The podcast was handed over to Vince Coglianese when Bongino assumed his FBI role in March 2025. It continues under the same name.
Q: Has Dan Bongino written any books?
A: Bongino has authored multiple New York Times bestselling books, including “Life Inside the Bubble” and “Spygate: The Attempted Sabotage of Donald J. Trump.”
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