JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey abruptly resigned Monday to join President Donald Trump's administration.
Bailey, 44, will become a co-deputy director of the FBI with Dan Bongino.
The Republican lawyer鈥檚 looming departure from Missouri just eight months into his first full four-year term paves the way for Gov. Mike Kehoe to name a replacement.
Kehoe is scheduled to announce his pick Tuesday morning, signaling the move had been in the works for some time.
Bailey's resignation takes effect Sept. 8.
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鈥淚t has been a humbling privilege to serve as the 44th Attorney General of the State of Missouri, and I am forever grateful to the people of Missouri for the opportunity to represent our state and your families," Bailey said in a statement.
鈥淚 am eternally grateful for the opportunity to serve as the Co-Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I extend my deepest gratitude to President Trump and U.S. Attorney General Bondi for the privilege to join in their stated mission to Make America Safe Again," he added.
Bailey was appointed attorney general by former Gov. Mike Parson in 2022, and he听easily beat Democrat Elad Gross听last November after surviving an expensive primary against Will Scharf last year.
Scharf, an attorney with ties to former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, is now serving as Trump's White House secretary. Other Missourians who've taken jobs under Trump include longtime Republican attorney Ed Martin, a former Missouri Republican Party chair and often-unsuccessful political candidate, and former U.S. Rep. Billy Long, who oversaw the Internal Revenue Service until his surprise departure last week.
Bailey was on听a short list听to become U.S. Attorney General after Trump took office last year but was bypassed by the president. Scharf was听named as Trump鈥檚 assistant听days later.
鈥淚 am thrilled to welcome Andrew Bailey as Co-Deputy Director of the FBI. He has served as a distinguished attorney general for Missouri and is a decorated war veteran, bringing expertise and dedication to service,鈥澨齭aid U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.听鈥淲hile we know this is undoubtedly a great loss for Missouri, it is a tremendous gain for America.鈥
Bailey's departure comes as his office is pressing for the prosecution of St. 香港三级片 County Executive Sam Page for election violations and the removal of St. 香港三级片 city Sheriff Alfred Montgomery for nepotism and non-performance of his duties.
Bailey also was instrumental in forcing the departure of former St. 香港三级片 city prosecutor Kim Gardner for failing to perform her duties.
Bailey, 44, was plucked out of relative obscurity by Parson in late 2022 to fill the post left vacant when former Attorney General Eric Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Bailey, of Rhineland, was hired as Parson鈥檚 general counsel 2021 after serving in a deputy role for two years. Before joining the governor鈥檚 office, he was the top attorney at the Missouri Department of Corrections, which has paid out millions of dollars in legal judgments in connection with employee discrimination and unpaid overtime claims.
While in the governor鈥檚 office, Bailey played a key role in Parson鈥檚 decision to demand a 香港三级片 journalist be prosecuted for reporting that a state website under the governor鈥檚 control had exposed Social Security numbers of Missouri teachers.
The Republican Cole County prosecutor declined to take up the governor鈥檚 request.
An Army veteran who was deployed twice following the 9/11 attacks, Bailey also served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Warren County and as an assistant attorney general.
Bailey has received criticism for putting state resources into high-profile national court cases.
He has threatened private gyms over bathroom policies, demanded that public schools ban drag shows and joined multiple lawsuits against former President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration, including four over immigration policy and three over college student loan debt.
Even after Biden left the White House, Bailey wasn鈥檛 done with him.
In a Facebook post this spring, Bailey called for the Trump administration to investigate Biden鈥檚 mental fitness late in his term and whether it undercut the 鈥渓egality of executive orders, pardons, and all other actions issued in his name.鈥
He also sided with Trump when he sued the state of New York to halt Trump鈥檚 sentencing on 34 criminal counts until after the November election. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the request.
Bailey also took up Schmitt鈥檚 lawsuit against China over pandemic-era supply chain issues and won a $24 billion settlement that has not yet been collected.
Among those under consideration for Bailey's replacement is Catherine Hanaway, 61, an attorney at Husch Blackwell. Kehoe鈥檚 top adviser, Andrew Blunt, was chairman and CEO of Husch Blackwell鈥檚 lobbying arm before it was spun off in February.
Before leading the law firm as the first women to serve as chair, she also served as U.S. attorney in Missouri鈥檚 eastern district, speaker of the Missouri House and a staffer for the late U.S. Sen. Kit Bond.
In 2016, she made听an unsuccessful bid听for governor, losing in the Republican primary to Greitens.
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