Could Christie replace Comey at FBI?

<p>In the wake of President Donald Trump&rsquo;s firing of FBI Director James Comey, several names have been tossed around as a possible replacement, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.</p>

News 12 Staff

May 10, 2017, 11:02 PM

Updated 2,678 days ago

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Could Christie replace Comey at FBI?
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, several names have been tossed around as a possible replacement, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Comey was abruptly fired Tuesday evening.
“[Comey] wasn’t doing a good job,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “Very simply he was not going a good job.”
But some members of Congress say that they are concerned by the firing because the FBI was in the middle of investigating Russia’s possible involvement in the presidential election. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to Washington came at the same time as the firing.
Christie has a background as a federal prosecutor. Monmouth Polling Institute director Patrick Murray says that the governor would be signing on for intense scrutiny if he became the new director.
“To further your political career, the FBI director is a pretty thankless job,” Murray says.
Some people are speculating New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly could be in the running for the job. Murray says that Kelly may have a better chance at a Senate confirmation because he is nonpartisan.
“If they’re smart, they’ll look for somebody who’s a career investigator. Maybe somebody within the FBI who hasn’t made waves with their career and maybe they’re looking for somebody who they can push around a little bit,” Murray says.
Another possible choice is the currently appointed acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
Christie’s office did not return requests for comment about the situation.