President Donald Trump has promised to usher in a new era in America’s top investigative unit — the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — with day one changes being implemented as key senior roles were reassigned.

The agency’s shakeup began when former FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was nominated by Trump in his first administration, announced last month that he would step down from his post. Hours before Trump was sworn in, acting director Paul Abbate similarly stepped down.

The Associated Press reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that the longtime head of the Justice Department’s office of international affairs, Bruce Swartz, was reassigned along with as many as 20 other staffers. 

On Monday, the White House announced Brian Driscoll as acting director of the FBI. Driscoll’s time as acting director will presumably end when Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel is confirmed as the FBI’s next director by the U.S. Senate.

Throughout former President Biden’s term, the FBI was entangled in repeated scandals, prompting President Trump to promise to root out corruption in the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Former FBI agent and Fox News contributor Nicole Parker told Fox News Digital that Abbate’s retirement was a ‘good idea.’ 

‘He had to have known that his days were likely very much numbered,’ she said. ‘It’s been widely publicized and well known that Paul Abbate was involved in pushing the raid at Mar-a-Lago. Also, he was very involved in pushing the Jan. 6 misdemeanor cases that were worked rigorously at the FBI.’

‘I imagine that he knew, rather than being removed upon Trump’s arrival, that it might be best in his interest to just move on. And I think that probably was a good idea on his part,’ she said.

On day one, President Trump signed a memorandum titled ‘Restoring Accountability for Career Senior Executives.’ He asserted that federal employees are able to be fired. 

‘I came from the private sector before the FBI, and I noticed such a contrast. The private sector, if you’re not doing your job, of course you’re going to get fired. But when you come to the federal government, there was almost this mood of, you know, we’re untouchable,’ Parker said. 

‘And I really believe that those days are over. You are working for the American taxpayers. It is their taxpayer dollars that need to be put to good use. And if you’re not doing your job, you really should be removed,’ she said. ‘I do believe that there will be people who may not be on board with Trump’s plans, and they’ll choose to walk away on their own.’

Driscoll is now heading the agency as Patel begins his Senate confirmation process. Patel’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Jan. 29. 

Driscoll, a veteran of the agency, joined in 2007, according to a statement on the White House’s website. Robert Kissane, the top counterterrorism agent in New York, will serve as acting deputy director, the White House said.

Prior to being appointed as acting director, Driscoll most recently served as the special agent in charge of the Newark Field Office. He also previously served as the commander of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and Critical Incident Response Group’s (CIRG) Tactical Section chief.

‘I think it’s good for the FBI, for somebody who has such an amazing background with tactical experience and HRT,’ retired FBI agent Scott Duffey told Fox News Digital. ‘It’s a tall order, and I wish him well.’

Before his career in the FBI, he was a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the agency said in a release. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Villanova University and a master’s degree in public policy and international relations from Pepperdine University.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI and the Department of Justice for comment.

Fox News’ Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.

Change is in the air. A new year, a new president and a new moment for it to be your turn to win. I’ve spent the last 40 years studying wealthy, successful people and the principles that made them members of that club. This new day in America is going to be your best chance in a long time to apply those principles and live your dreams. 

While I am confident the new Trump administration will improve our economy, it will not make you personally wealthy or successful. The truth remains that what happens in your house, not what happens in the White House, has everything to do with your ability to win and live your dreams. Successful people will tell you the government takes much more than it gives. So, while you can be excited about the new administration’s approach to the economy, you cannot wait passively on the sidelines hoping President Trump will somehow make you wealthy. He won’t. It’s not his job. 

As a person of faith, I’m a big believer in prayer. The Bible is very clear that God does not financially bless the lazy, or the incompetent. Praying for your corn to grow while failing to plant any is not a biblical principle nor one of successful people. St. Augustine is quoted as saying, ‘Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you.’ Proverbs 10:4 (ESV) says, ‘A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.’ My grandmother used say, ‘There’s great place to go when you’re broke … TO WORK!’ God loves you, but He will not make you wealthy unless you follow His commonsense principles. 

Knowing that the new administration and even God who loves you are not going to make you successful without your personal diligence and competence, then it’s up to you to take action. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. It’s time for a change.

Our company, Ramsey Solutions, did the largest study of millionaires ever done in America. The research methodology was airtight, and we had an outside firm ensure we didn’t have any confirmation bias or other issues with our process. The conclusions of this study are based on data, which makes them facts. So, if you disagree with the findings, you are what’s known as wrong.

Normal in America is broke. In the most prosperous society in human history, people are making money and they’re broke. 

I unpacked the white paper in my number one bestseller ‘Baby Steps Millionaires,’ and we discovered many things your common sense will tell you and very few things to confirm your childish emotions about what it means to be a millionaire. Eighty-nine percent of America’s millionaires are NOT millionaires because of an inheritance. You can take hope in that fact because it means YOU CAN build wealth and live your dreams. 

Millionaires do drive used Toyotas, and they do live on a written plan for their money called a budget. Millionaires are generous. And their purchase patterns indicate they do very little to impress others. Their Instagram highlight reel would be exceedingly boring. They don’t care what other people think. They are not taking a poll. 

They are aimed at a goal of financial security and are willing to sacrifice to get there. They read more than they watch TV. They are mostly debt-free and pay off their homes on average in 11.2 years from the time they set their mind to build wealth. While people generally become millionaires at an average age of 50, we discovered a surprising number of young millionaires as well. They contribute to their 401(k)s in good mutual funds like it’s a religion. They agree on their goals with their spouse and work in unity, not separately. And both are emotional adults, no spoiled-child temper tantrums to distract them from their goal. 

They like their careers and don’t say, ‘Thank God it’s Friday.’ They don’t say defeatist things like, ‘You’ll always have a car payment,’ or ‘The little man can’t get ahead,’ because they started with nothing—they are the little man! And they are proving every day that you can live on less than you make, and you can build wealth in America today. It takes them an average of 17 years from the time they start their plan to reach a net worth of $1 million. Most of the data sources we find indicate there are over 23 million millionaires in the United States today. 

All this data tells us clearly that you have every reason to hope that you, too, can build a good level of wealth in our country today. And yet, normal in America is broke. In the most prosperous society in human history, people are making money and they’re broke. 

Fifty-five percent of people who have debt say they lose sleep over it. The average new car payment is over $700. Most people have had student loan debt so long they think it’s a pet. Credit card debt is over $1.14 trillion. The number one cause of divorce is money stress and money fights. Normal is making money and broke. Normal sucks. Time to change. Time for some new habits and principles. Time to try doing what millionaires do. Here are five things you can take right now.

1. Get on a budget 

You need a detailed, written plan for your monthly spending. Check out our EveryDollar budgeting app for help.

2. Get out of debt

Your most powerful wealth-building tool is your income, so stop giving it to credit card and car companies in the form of monthly payments.

3. Live on less than you make

Pay cash. If you can’t pay for it with cash, you can’t afford it. You are not in Congress. You can’t spend more than you make and win.

4. Give money away

Be generous. Be a good tipper. Help others.

5. Save money 

Build an emergency fund because you will have emergencies, and they will become debt if you don’t. Invest in your Roth IRA or 401(k) in good mutual funds EVERY month.

You work too hard to be broke. Personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge. I am positive the American Dream is not dead because I meet people just like you every day who have overcome unbelievable challenges to build wealth. It’s time for a change. 

Don’t wait on the White House to fix your house. Don’t wait on the sidelines of your own life any longer. 

You have every reason to have hope in—and work for—the American Dream.

Take Control of Your Money: Author Dave Ramsey invites you to join him, George Kamel, Rachel Cruze and Jade Warshaw for the free Take Control of Your Money livestream event January 23 at 7 p.m. CST. You’ll learn, step by step, how to do what millionaires do so you can stop living paycheck to paycheck, create breathing room in your budget and finally start building wealth. You work too hard to feel this broke. It’s time to take action!

The irony is not lost on me that this anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision comes just two days after the inauguration of the man who triggered its downfall: Donald Trump. 

Since the conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices he appointed helped strip us of this fundamental right two and half years ago, Republicans have been faced with the fierce outrage of American voters across the political spectrum. They heard enough to fake policy shifts on the issue publicly – scrubbing their websites of their support for restrictions, attempting to walk back out-of-touch views on care, and even removing explicit calls for a national abortion ban from their party’s platform for the first time in 40 years. 

Simply put, Republicans have learned that their opposition to abortion is politically dangerous. But while Donald Trump and Republicans at the state-level now know better than to talk about the issue publicly during their terms in office, that doesn’t mean they won’t try to further undermine our rights now that they have solidified power. 

Don’t take my word for it; just look at the facts. Because while Republicans were spouting these claims about moderation leading up to Election Day, they were simultaneously taking extreme measures to push care out of reach. With attention diverted to conversations about the Democratic ticket, they snuck harsh restrictions into must-pass budget bills, blocked a series of bills that would have protected patients traveling to get care and doctors providing that care, obstructed efforts to reinstate the protections of Roe, and more.

Republicans have wasted no time in pushing their real agenda post-election either. In Missouri, they’ve already filed numerous bills to overturn Amendment 3, a ballot initiative passed by a majority of voters in support of abortion access. In Indiana, they’ve introduced a new bill that would push care further out of reach for rape survivors. In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton has even filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against a New York doctor for providing care to a Texas resident, which could set a dangerous precedent for any patient who needs care from out-of-state. 

The vast majority of Americans believe in our right to choose – that includes 50% of Republican women. And the results of this election cycle proved that abortion is still a highly motivating issue for voters across parties. Women like Sen. Jacky Rosen in Nevada, Sen. Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, and New York Rep. Laura Gillen all won tightly contested races that came down to one question: Which candidate not only claims they believe in my right to choose, but can be trusted to actually protect it? 

If you’re part of the majority, then you should know: Attacks on our rights are still in full throttle. And the future of your reproductive health care access may lie in the hands of your state leaders.

Over the last two and half years, governors have been a frontline of defense, putting up safety rails against these kinds of attacks and prosecution attempts related to abortion care. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek recently directed state agencies to secure an extended stockpile of abortion medication throughout the duration of this next administration. After the fall of Roe, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an executive order protecting patients from extradition and out-of-state investigations for seeking abortion care. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed another executive order that created an advisory council to safeguard reproductive rights and gave the state attorney general sole prosecutorial authority in court cases relating to abortion.

Regardless of your political party, the bulk of us agree on the fundamental belief behind these actions: Women should be able to get the health care they need without fear of government interference or prosecution.

If you care about abortion, it’s critical to stand behind the leaders who don’t just claim they believe in your rights, but who will take action to keep them intact. Governor candidates, like Rep. Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, are the exact kind of leaders we need to hold the line and defend access to the health care we need.

While today we are stuck pondering the pain and cruelty that has erupted across our nation since the fall of Roe, instead of commemorating 52 years of a woman’s simple right to choose, it doesn’t have to be this way. This year, we have an opportunity to begin charting a path forward – and that begins with the Democratic women leaders Americans can trust. 

President Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony Monday featured the largest, most complex security footprint of any inauguration in U.S. history. 

The nation’s capital was transformed seemingly overnight from a pedestrian-friendly city into a daunting and impenetrable fortress – the result of a multi-agency task force that erected 30 miles of anti-scale fencing, coordinated aerial surveillance and drones, and saw the deployment of tens of thousands of law enforcement, military personnel, undercover agents, and national guard trucks across D.C.

The impressive, whole-of-government security effort on Inauguration Day was unprecedented, and not without reason: Trump was the victim of two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign — including a shooter who came so close to him as to nick his ear — and a domestic threat landscape that was heightened further by the terrorist-inspired attack in New Orleans and the execution-style killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan late last year.

It’s notable, then, that this year’s sprawling security footprint did not expressly include one key component considered fundamental to U.S. tradition: The naming of a designated survivor.

In D.C., the tightly coordinated federal protection efforts were carefully planned long ahead of Trump’s inauguration ceremony by the Secret Service and many other federal agencies. 

It’s both a nod to recent security concerns, and more largely an effort to protect the U.S. body politic, foreign dignitaries, donors, and thousands of attendees from any mass catastrophe or threat. 

The designated survivor, who in a catastrophic event would bear the responsibility of leading the U.S. in the aftermath of a crisis, is typically a Cabinet officer when major security events put elected officials all in one spot, such as inaugurations and State of the Union addresses.

Previous designated survivors have included former DHS secretary Jeh Johnson, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was tapped for the role during President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009. 

Gates, a George W. Bush appointee, was kept on by Obama and served in his Pentagon role until July 2011, according to his official Defense Department biography.

The survivor’s location, and sometimes identity, remains confidential until after the event disperses and its attendees have safely returned home. In high-profile events, a broader contingency plan is in place.

As Garrett Graff reported in 2016, Gates’s role as designated survivor during Obama’s inauguration also included the support of another government heavyweight — James Clapper, then the undersecretary of intelligence — who stowed away during the ceremony deep in an underground government bunker in Pennsylvania, a backup to the backup, if you will, and a nod at the detailed succession plan carefully crafted by a group defense, intelligence, and other federal agencies over the span of some 40-plus years.

So it was notable that no designated survivor was named during the 47th presidential inauguration.

No reason was given for the absence of the designated survivor, which was first reported by NBC News.

It’s possible that the sprawling security presence coordinated in the run-up to Jan. 20 was deemed sufficient to protect against any threats.

It’s also possible the event, which was held indoors and thus restricted to the public and to members of the news media, was limited enough as not to warrant the designated survivor. 

Ahead of the event, FBI and Secret Service personnel stressed the stringent security measures in place and the tight vetting of any ticketed attendees.

David Sundberg of the FBI’s Washington Field Office told Fox News earlier this week that the bureau was not tracking ‘any specific or credible threats’ for Inauguration Day.

‘All attendees will undergo screening,’ said Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office. 

These individuals told Fox News that the fencing alone is more than any other designated National Special Security Event in the past.

‘Designated checkpoints will be set up for members of the public interested in attending the inauguration,’ McCool said ahead of the inauguration — a protocol also applied to attendees of the modified Capital One festivities, which were moved inside due to frigid temperatures.

Neither the White House, DHS nor the FBI immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the absence of a designated survivor.

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump has promised to usher in a new era in America’s top investigative unit — the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — with day one changes being implemented as key senior roles were reassigned.

The agency’s shakeup began when former FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was nominated by Trump in his first administration, announced last month that he would step down from his post. Hours before Trump was sworn in, acting director Paul Abbate similarly stepped down.

The Associated Press reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that the longtime head of the Justice Department’s office of international affairs, Bruce Swartz, was reassigned along with as many as 20 other staffers. 

On Monday, the White House announced Brian Discoll as acting director of the FBI. Driscoll’s time as acting director will presumably end when Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel is confirmed as the FBI’s next director by the U.S. Senate.

Throughout former President Biden’s term, the FBI was entangled in repeated scandals, prompting President Trump to promise to root out corruption in the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Former FBI agent and Fox News contributor Nicole Parker told Fox News Digital that Abbate’s retirement was a ‘good idea.’ 

‘He had to have known that his days were likely very much numbered,’ she said. ‘It’s been widely publicized and well known that Paul Abbate was involved in pushing the raid at Mar-a-Lago. Also, he was very involved in pushing the Jan. 6 misdemeanor cases that were worked rigorously at the FBI.’

‘I imagine that he knew, rather than being removed upon Trump’s arrival, that it might be best in his interest to just move on. And I think that probably was a good idea on his part,’ she said.

On day one, President Trump signed a memorandum titled ‘Restoring Accountability for Career Senior Executives.’ He asserted that federal employees are able to be fired. 

‘I came from the private sector before the FBI, and I noticed such a contrast. The private sector, if you’re not doing your job, of course you’re going to get fired. But when you come to the federal government, there was almost this mood of, you know, we’re untouchable,’ Parker said. 

‘And I really believe that those days are over. You are working for the American taxpayers. It is their taxpayer dollars that need to be put to good use. And if you’re not doing your job, you really should be removed,’ she said. ‘I do believe that there will be people who may not be on board with Trump’s plans, and they’ll choose to walk away on their own.’

Discroll is now heading the agency as Patel begins his Senate confirmation process. Patel’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Jan. 29. 

Discroll, a veteran of the agency, joined in 2007, according to a statement on the White House’s website. Robert Kissane, the top counterterrorism agent in New York, will serve as acting deputy director, the White House said.

Prior to being appointed as acting director, Discroll most recently served as the special agent in charge of the Newark Field Office. He also previously served as the commander of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and Critical Incident Response Group’s (CIRG) Tactical Section chief.

‘I think it’s good for the FBI, for somebody who has such an amazing background with tactical experience and HRT,’ retired FBI agent Scott Duffey told Fox News Digital. ‘It’s a tall order, and I wish him well.’

Before his career in the FBI, he was a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the agency said in a release. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Villanova University and a master’s degree in public policy and international relations from Pepperdine University.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI and the Department of Justice for comment.

Fox News’ Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.