Washington DC - President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to replace the current FBI Director Christopher Wray with long-time loyalist Kash Patel.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump praised the former advisor and Pentagon official, who has been critical of the bureau and is known for his beliefs in conspiracy theories about a government "deep state."

"Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator and 'America First' fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The FBI's current director, Christopher Wray, was appointed by Trump himself to a 10-year term in 2017, meaning he would either need to step down or be fired.

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A son of Indian immigrants, Patel served in several high-level posts during Trump's first term, including as a national security advisor and as chief of staff to the acting defense secretary.

"Kash did an incredible job during my First Term," Trump said, adding that the nominee would work to "end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border."

Wray was tapped by Trump during his first term, replacing an acting director after Trump fired former FBI director James Comey, who had angered Trump with an FBI investigation into the president's extensive ties to Russia.

But FBI under Wray also placed Trump under investigation, searching his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022 for illegally retained top secret documents.

Trump has long derided the bureau's investigations, including its probes into hundreds of his supporters who violently stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

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In a statement to CNN, the FBI said that Wray's "focus remains on the men and women of the FBI, the people we do the work with, and the people we do the work for."

Separately, Trump nominated Chad Chronister, a Florida sheriff, as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which the president-elect erroneously referred to as the Drug Enforcement Agency.

"Chad will work with our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to secure the Border, stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs, across the Southern Border, and SAVE LIVES," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Bondi, a staunch Trump ally and former Florida attorney general, is the president-elect's pick to lead the Department of Justice.