Christopher Raia, a long-time veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has been appointed as the co-deputy director following the exit of Dan Bongino.
The announcement was made on Friday by FBI Director Kash Patel. Raia, age 49, currently manages the New York City Field Office and will be transitioning to Washington, D.C. to start his new role, teaming up with Andrew Bailey as co-deputy director.
Raia brings over two decades of experience to the position, which the FBI highlighted in their announcement.
Before joining the FBI, Raia graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and served as an officer in the Florida Coast Guard.
He began his career with the FBI in 2003 as a special agent, working out of the Houston Field Office. Throughout his tenure, Raia has focused on various areas, including violent crime, gangs, drugs, and white-collar offenses, and he played a pivotal role as the coordinator of the Safe Streets Task Force.
In 2012, he became a program manager within the International Terrorism Operations Section at FBI Headquarters, responsible for overseeing international terrorism cases across several field offices, including Atlanta and Dallas.
Raia was promoted to senior supervisory resident agent in Bryan/College Station in 2014. By 2020, he advanced to assistant special agent in charge of the Violent Crime Branch in Houston, and later the National Security Branch in 2021.
Returning to headquarters in D.C., he was appointed as the executive assistant director of the National Security Branch’s chief of staff in 2023.
By 2024, he was managing all international counterterrorism programs for the FBI in the role of deputy assistant director within the Counterterrorism Division.
Dan Bongino, who took on the co-deputy director role after being nominated by President Donald Trump, announced last month he would depart from the position.
Bongino remarked on Monday, “Working in the administration was the experience of a lifetime,” as he prepares to return to radio in February.
According to sources, Raia is expected to begin his new role as early as Monday.
