India Caucus co-chair on Trump’s list for FBI director’s post
WASHINGTON: Republican US senator from Texas John Cornyn, who is the India Caucus co-founder and co-chair, is among the frontrunners reportedly being considered by the Donald Trump administration to head the FBI.
Cornyn, a lawyer by training, co-founded the caucus with Hillary Clinton in 2004 and has stayed on, and flaunts it in his bio on his official website. He currently co-chairs the caucus in the Senate with Democrat Mark Warner.
The former director of the agency, James Comey, was fired by Trump earlier this week in a move that raised questions about underlying motivations.
Acting FBI director Andrew McCabe is also in contention to head the agency, according to news reports. Attorney general Jeff Sessions and deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein will be interviewing the contenders over the next few days, with the final call to be Trump’s.
Others on the list include white-collar defence lawyer Alice Fisher and New York state judge Michael Garcia, according to the Washington Post. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and New Jersey governor Chris Christie figure on other lists.
Trump told reporters on Saturday he could decide Comey’s successor as early as next week, before he leaves for Saudi Arabia, Israel, Palestine and Italy.
”I think the process is going to go quickly. Almost all of them are very well known. They’ve been vetted over their lifetime, essentially. But very well known, highly respected, really talented people. And that’s what we want for the FBI,” he said.
Meanwhile, questions continue to swirl around Comey’s dismissal, who was overseeing an investigation into Trump campaign aides’ contacts with Russia and whether there was any collusion in the alleged meddling of the 2016 US election by Moscow.