Donald Trump is considering a push from right-wing allies to nominate Kash Patel to lead the FBI, one of the clearest indications that the president-elect plans to stick to his promise to fire Director Christopher Wray before his 10-year term ends and replace him with a loyalist.

Interest in Patel – after choosing Rope. Matt Gaetz for Attorney General and Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence — speaks to Trump’s call to fill top law enforcement and intelligence positions with supporters who might be open to carrying out his demands for specific investigations as well as to inoculate the president against any future investigations.

Trump has harbored bitterness over his experience navigating a special counsel during his first term, followed by the four impeachments he faced after leaving office.

The tussle for senior positions in the next administration has continued at Mar-a-Lago and other names in the mix for the FBI’s top job include former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, former acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan and Jeff Jensen , a former St. Louis US attorney who led a review of General Mike Flynn’s guilty plea as led to his case being dismissed.

Even among Trump loyalists, Patel is widely seen as a controversial figure and relentless self-advocate whose value derives in large part from a shared disdain for the so-called deep state. While sources said he has lobbied for the FBI position — including talking to Trump directly about a position in the administration — he also pushed for the role of CIA director, which finally went to John Ratcliffe.

Whoever Trump chooses, it’s clear the president-elect is exploring the possibility of cutting short Wray’s 10-year term. Trump nominated Wray in 2017 after firing James Comeybut he began to mourn him before he left office in 2021. Trump’s view of the FBI only worsened after his Mar-a-Lago resort was raided in August 2022, and Trump was later indicted for retaining classified documents.

The 10-year term is designed to keep the FBI director position insulated from political whims.

“President-elect Trump is making decisions about who will serve in his second administration,” said Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition. “These decisions will be announced when they are made.”

A spokesperson for Patel declined to comment. Jensen, Rogers and Morgan all declined to comment.

Several sources familiar with Trump’s transition process have expressed deep concern about the prospect of Patel being named FBI director, where he would be well-positioned to try to investigate Trump’s political enemies, remove sensitive information and purge career officials.

“Kash is terrifying at the agency,” said a source familiar with internal deliberations about the FBI director role.

Patel has accused law enforcement and intelligence agencies, without evidence, of waging an illegal vendetta against Trump.

“The one thing we learned in the Trump administration the first time is that we have to put in every American patriot from top to bottom,” Patel said last year on Steve Bannon’s right-wing podcast. “We got them for law enforcement, we got them for intelligence gathering, we got them for offensive operations, we got them for DOD, CIA, everywhere.”

Patel rose to prominence in Trump’s orbit in 2018 when he served as aide to Rep. Devin Nunes, who was the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee Nunes at the time. In 2019, Patel went to work for Trump on the National Security Council before becoming chief of staff to the acting secretary of defense during Trump’s final months.

When Trump considered firing then-CIA director Gina Haspel after the 2020 election — when he pushed to release more information about the Russia investigation — Patel was floated as a potential replacement. Trump also briefly considered installing Patel as deputy FBI director in the final weeks of his first administration. The job of deputy FBI director is a career position and not a political appointee, and Attorney General William Barr helped talk Trump out of putting Patel at the agency.

Amid speculation about his future, Wray has tried to project an air of business as usual. He and staff have continued to schedule events on his calendar through early 2025 after the inauguration, according to an official briefed on the matter.

That suggests Wray doesn’t plan to leave unless Trump orders otherwise.

Whenever asked about the political maelstrom that has surrounded the FBI and its investigation, Wray has emphasized that his focus is on the FBI’s work to uphold the law regardless of party politics.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes and Manu Raju contributed to this report.

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