51ºÚÁÏ

Bailey, 44, will become a co-deputy director of the FBI with Dan Bongino.

The Republican lawyer’s 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.

±«±Ê¶Ù´¡°Õ·¡:ÌýCatherine Hanaway, ex-prosecutor and House speaker, named Missouri attorney general

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.

“It 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.

“I 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 heÌýeasily beat Democrat Elad GrossÌýlast 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 onÌýa short listÌýto become U.S. Attorney General after Trump took office last year but was bypassed by the president. Scharf wasÌýnamed as Trump’s assistantÌýdays later.

“I 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,â€�Ìýsaid U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.Ìý“While we know this is undoubtedly a great loss for Missouri, it is a tremendous gain for America.â€�

Bailey's departure comes as his office is pressing for the prosecution of 51ºÚÁÏ County Executive Sam Page for election violations and the removal of 51ºÚÁÏ city Sheriff Alfred Montgomery for nepotism and non-performance of his duties.

Bailey also was instrumental in forcing the departure of former 51ºÚÁÏ 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’s general counsel 2021 after serving in a deputy role for two years. Before joining the governor’s 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’s office, Bailey played a key role in Parson’s decision to demand a 51ºÚÁÏ journalist be prosecuted for reporting that a state website under the governor’s control had exposed Social Security numbers of Missouri teachers.

The Republican Cole County prosecutor declined to take up the governor’s 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’s administration, including four over immigration policy and three over college student loan debt.

Even after Biden left the White House, Bailey wasn’t done with him.

In a Facebook post this spring, Bailey called for the Trump administration to investigate Biden’s mental fitness late in his term and whether it undercut the “legality of executive orders, pardons, and all other actions issued in his name.�

He also sided with Trump when he sued the state of New York to halt Trump’s sentencing on 34 criminal counts until after the November election. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the request.

Bailey also took up Schmitt’s 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’s top adviser, Andrew Blunt, was chairman and CEO of Husch Blackwell’s 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’s eastern district, speaker of the Missouri House and a staffer for the late U.S. Sen. Kit Bond.

In 2016, she madeÌýan unsuccessful bidÌýfor governor, losing in the Republican primary to Greitens.