Christopher Wray is FBI’s new Director

The Senate confirmed Christopher Wray as the new FBI Director by a 92-5 vote Tuesday, filling the spot left vacant when President Donald Trump fired James Comey in May.The bipartisan vote showed support for Wray’s pledge to keep the FBI politically independent in a politically charged time. Last month, the Senate Judiciary committee unanimously recommended Wray’s appointment 20-0.

“The fact that all of my colleagues, Democrat and Republican, trusted Mr. Wray with their aye vote says what we need to know about Mr. Wray’s ability to perform the important role of FBI director and to do it with integrity, with competence, with professionalism, and the utmost respect for the Constitution and the rule of law,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We can’t ask for Mr. Wray to do anything more than that.

Only five senators, all Democrats, opposed the nomination: Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Wyden said he opposed Wray because of an insufficient commitment to citizens’ cybersecurity rights.