--- title: Trey Gowdy Withdraws His Name From FBI Director Shortlist description: South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy on Monday withdrew his name from consideration for FBI Director, after James Comey was fired last week canonical: https://time.com/4779985/trey-gowdy-fbi-director-replacement-james-comey-donald-trump/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-15T23:04:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:56:21.815Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rep. Trey Gowdy Withdraws His Name From FBI director Shortlist og:description: "I would not be the right person" og:url: https://time.com/4779985/trey-gowdy-fbi-director-replacement-james-comey-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31d5c64c5ac08fbd/6988cd5e656a3fabe8bcffcc/trey-gowdy-fbi-director.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Rep. Trey Gowdy og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rep. Trey Gowdy Withdraws His Name From FBI director Shortlist twitter:description: "I would not be the right person" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31d5c64c5ac08fbd/6988cd5e656a3fabe8bcffcc/trey-gowdy-fbi-director.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rep. Trey Gowdy Withdraws His Name From FBI Director Shortlist  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 15, 2017 11:04 PM UTC  Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., walks down the House steps at the Capitol on May 4, 2017. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., walks down the House steps at the Capitol on May 4, 2017.Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 15, 2017 11:04 PM UTC South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy on Monday withdrew his name from [consideration for FBI Director](http://time.com/4778426/james-comey-fired-president-donald-trump-fbi/?iid=sr-link6), after former director [James Comey](http://time.com/4778510/james-comey-donald-trump-james-clapper-fbi/?iid=sr-link1) was fired by President [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4779986/donald-trump-russia-classified-information-isis/?xid=homepage) last week. Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor and state attorney, was on the [shortlist of contenders](http://time.com/4778228/james-comey-president-donald-trump-andrew-mccabe-mike-rogers/?iid=sr-link4) to replace Comey. Gowdy said he spoke with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions about the position and shared with him “my firm conviction that I would not be the right person.” Lawmakers in both parties have urged Trump to choose an FBI director who [does not have a political background](http://time.com/4778727/james-comey-trump-fbi-replacement/?iid=sr-link5#) in order to ensure the job remains nonpartisan. “Our country and the women and men of the FBI deserve a Director with not only impeccable credentials but also one who can unite the country as we strive for justice and truth. I am confident that person will emerge,” Gowdy, a Republican, said in a [statement](https://twitter.com/TGowdySC/status/864227227017281538) Monday night. “I want to thank the scores of law enforcement offices and prosecutors who have contacted me over the past couple of days. Perhaps we can work together again in the future.” > [](https://twitter.com/TGowdySC/status/864227227017281538) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4779985/trey-gowdy-fbi-director-replacement-james-comey-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4779985/trey-gowdy-fbi-director-replacement-james-comey-donald-trump/"},"headline":"Rep. 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