The White House announced on Tuesday afternoon that FBI Director James Comey was fired.
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James Comey is only the second FBI director to ever be fired — here's why Trump was able to fire him
It's only the second time since the US adopted its current procedures that a FBI director has been fired.
Former FBI Director Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington.
It's only the second time since the US adopted its current procedures around selecting FBI leadership that a director has been fired.
Why can the president fire the FBI director?
The President has held the power to appoint and dismiss the director of the FBI at his or her discretion since 1968.
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The current nomination and confirmation process for the FBI director was created by an amendment to the
While the Senate had tried multiple times to pass a law establishing the FBI director as a presidential appointee, the bill failed in the House. By 1968, Hoover was 73 years old, and likely to retire soon. He served until his death in 1972.
In the wake of the Watergate scandal and the FBI's expansion under Hoover, Congress passed a law limiting appointees to serve one 10-year term as
The first FBI director to be fired was
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