• Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray told a town hall of bureau employees on Wednesday that he will resign by the end of the Biden administration next month.
• Wray's announcement clears the way for President-elect Donald Trump to install a new director in charge of the FBI.
• Trump in November announced his intention to nominate Kash Patel as FBI director.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray announced Wednesday that he will resign by the end of the Biden administration next month.

Wray's announcement, at a town hall for agency employees, clears the way for President-elect Donald Trump — who has been critical of the director — to install a new head of the FBI without having to fire Wray or demand his resignation.

Trump in November announced his intention to nominate Kash Patel as FBI director. Patel is a former federal prosecutor and a Trump loyalist who has been critical of the FBI.

Wray, whose office has a 10-year term, has been director since August 2017. Trump, who was president at that time, nominated him to the post after firing James Comey as director.

Since then, Wray has drawn Trump's ire for the FBI's role in criminal investigations of Trump for his efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election and for his retention of classified government documents after leaving the White House.

Those investigations led to two federal criminal prosecutions of Trump, both of which were dropped by the Department of Justice after his election in November. DOJ policy bars prosecutions of sitting U.S. presidents.

"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 said Wednesday, according to prepared remarks released by the FBI's press office.

"My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you're doing on behalf of the American people every day," Wray said.

"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," the director said.

Trump in a social media post called Wray's planned resignation "a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice."

"I just don't know what happened to him. We will now restore the Rule of Law for all Americans," Trump wrote in the Truth Social post. "Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America."

Trump called Patel "the most qualified Nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency's History, and is committed to helping ensure that Law, Order, and Justice will be brought back to our Country again, and soon."