WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray told bureau employees on Wednesday that he plans to resign at the end of the current administration, as President-elect Donald Trump has announced intention to replace him, U.S. media reported.

"After weeks of careful thought, I've decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current Administration in January and then step down," Wray was quoted as saying by NBC News.

"In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work," Wray said.

Trump recently announced that he plans to nominate Kash Patel as the next FBI director, intending to replace the current director Wray, before Wray's 10-year term ends.

Trump nominated Wray in 2017, after the then-president fired James Comey as FBI director. The relationship between Trump and Wray began to deteriorate before Trump left office in 2021. Trump's opinion of the FBI worsened after the August 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago resort and his subsequent indictment for allegedly mishandling classified documents.

Trump indicated in an interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday that he wasn't "thrilled" with Wray, saying that Wray "invaded Mar-a-Lago."

Multiple sources familiar with the Trump transition process previously expressed "deep concerns" about the possibility of Patel being named FBI director -- "a role where he would have vast authority to investigate the president's political enemies, help declassify sensitive information and carry out a purge of career civil servants," CNN reported.

During Trump's first term, Patel served as chief of staff at the U.S. Defense Department, deputy director of National Intelligence, and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council. Enditem

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