Trump's FBI overhaul begins as Acting Director Brian Driscoll puts 'untouchable' feds on notice

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.