U.S. President Barack Obama has chosen a former senior official in the administration of Republican President George W. Bush to serve as director of the FBI.
Mr. Obama, who is a Democrat, will formally nominate James Comey on Friday to replace FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Mueller has led the agency since a week before the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. He has announced plans to retire in the fall.
Comey served as a deputy attorney general during the Bush era.
He is perhaps best known for refusing to approve legal aspects of a domestic surveillance program in 2004, while serving as acting attorney general as his boss, John Ashcroft, recovered from surgery.
His refusal prompted two senior White House officials to try to convince Ashcroft to sign off on the program from his hospital bed.
Comey later said the incident was probably the most difficult night of his professional life.
The White House says Comey, during his career, "demonstrated unwavering toughness, integrity and principle" in defending security and the nation's value.
Mr. Obama, who is a Democrat, will formally nominate James Comey on Friday to replace FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Mueller has led the agency since a week before the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. He has announced plans to retire in the fall.
Comey served as a deputy attorney general during the Bush era.
He is perhaps best known for refusing to approve legal aspects of a domestic surveillance program in 2004, while serving as acting attorney general as his boss, John Ashcroft, recovered from surgery.
His refusal prompted two senior White House officials to try to convince Ashcroft to sign off on the program from his hospital bed.
Comey later said the incident was probably the most difficult night of his professional life.
The White House says Comey, during his career, "demonstrated unwavering toughness, integrity and principle" in defending security and the nation's value.