Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI, on Wednesday announced plans to leave his post in January, a move that prompted critics to speculate if the decision was fueled by the Trump administration’s deadline to drop the Jeffrey Epstein files.Bongino took to X to confirm his plans after reports on his uncertain future at the agency intensified in recent days.Before taking the FBI gig, Bongino made a podcasting career out of pushing conspiracy theories, including those tied to Epstein. Within months, Bongino indicated that he wasn’t too happy at the new job, telling Fox News in May that he “gave up everything for this.”Bongino was reportedly on thin ice at the FBI in August after clashing with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files. In an unusual move, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey was tapped to serve as the FBI’s co-deputy director alongside Bongino.The DOJ must release the Epstein files by Friday, the same day that Bongino “tentatively planned” to announce his exit from the FBI, according to MS NOW.Critics on social media weighed in on the news, with one Bluesky user arguing that Bongino could be “worried about the fallout” from the Epstein files release.Read that take, and others, below:that was quick.also...Bongino spent much of his podcasting career talking about Epstein, and has reportedly been worried about the impact on his income of Trump's foot dragging re the files. He may also be worried about the fallout when the files are released.— Noah Berlatsky (@nberlat.bsky.social) 2025-12-17T18:36:13.572ZDan Bongino had planned to announce his departure from the FBI on Friday 19 Dec. 2025. ... the same day interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS reaches its closest approach to Earth (coincidence) – and also the legal deadline for the DOJ's release of the Epstein files (not coincidence).— Dr. Jack Brown (@drjackbrown.bsky.social) 2025-12-17T20:54:29.123Zwww.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/u...Being unqualified, incompetent, and generally an absurd choice for a position is no barrier to working in this administration, but it does make it hard to actually do the job, and Bongino didn't like doing hard work. Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey— Jacob T. Levy (@jacobtlevy.bsky.social) 2025-12-17T23:01:57.710ZClose