Christopher F.

Christopher A. Wray is a prominent lawyer with a background in criminal prosecution and government service. He played a significant role in the F.B.I.'s history when, as the government's top criminal prosecutor in 2004, he offered to join then-F.B.I director Robert S. Mueller III and deputy attorney general James B. Comey in their protest against a controversial surveillance program under the Bush administration. Wray's connection with Mueller and Comey would later be relevant when President Trump appointed him to be the director of the F.B.I., making all three central figures in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election that has shaken Trump's administration. While Mr. Wray is a veteran Washington lawyer, he is described as more low-key and deliberative than Mueller or Comey but will remain independent, according to friends and former colleagues. In choosing Wray, President Trump made a safe, mainstream pick for the F.B.I., opting for a non-partisan figure who would assuage concerns from F.B.I agents that the agency might be weakened or politicized under Trump's leadership.