[Source: BBC]

Christopher Wray, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), says he will resign from his post before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.

Wray announced his impending departure at an internal FBI meeting on Wednesday.

Trump has publicly signalled his desire to replace Wray with Kash Patel, who has called for “dramatically” limiting the FBI’s authority.

Wray, whom Trump nominated in 2017 to serve a 10-year term, has faced criticism during his tenure from Republicans due to the FBI’s investigations into the former president after he left office.

He received a standing ovation after his remarks, with some in the audience crying, an unnamed official told the Associated Press.

Trump appointed Wray to lead the FBI after firing his predecessor James Comey following the FBI’s investigations into alleged contacts between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.

Following his election to a second term, Trump said his pick for FBI director would be Patel – a former aide who has been a steadfast supporter of the incoming Republican president.

On Wednesday, Patel said he was “looking forward to a smooth transition and I’ll be ready to go on day one”.

“Senators have been wonderful and I look forward to earning their trust and confidence through the advice and consent process, and restoring law and order and integrity to the FBI,” he said.

Patel requires approval by the Senate before he can be appointed. In the meantime, FBI deputy director Paul Abbate, a veteran FBI agent, will run the bureau after Wray’s departure, the BBC’s US partner CBS News reported.

Patel has been a fierce critic of the FBI. In his memoir, Government Gangsters, Patel called for an eradication of “government tyranny” within the FBI by firing “the top ranks”.

Patel’s critics have expressed doubts that he is qualified to lead one of the world’s top law enforcement agencies.

However, some Republican lawmakers have welcomed his nomination.

Wray has strongly denied he allowed a Democratic partisan agenda to run amok as FBI director, telling lawmakers a year ago at a House of Representatives hearing that he had been a lifelong Republican.