President Donald Trump said Saturday that “we can make a fast decision” on a new FBI director, possibly by late this week, before he leaves on his first foreign trip since taking office. Eight candidates to be the bureau’s director were interviewed Saturday by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein. They are among more than a dozen candidates Trump is considering, a group that includes several lawmakers, attorneys and law enforcement officials., the Associated Press reports. The first candidate to arrive was Alice Fisher, a high-ranking Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration. Among those interviewed was Adam Lee, agent in charge of the FBI’s Richmond, Va. office. Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe also interviewed for the permanent post despite his repeated willingness to break from White House explanations of Comey’s ouster and its characterizations of the Russia investigation.
Also interviewed were Michael Garcia, a former prosecutor now a judge on New York’s highest court; GOP Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate leader and a former Texas attorney general; and U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, a George W. Bush appointee. Frances Townsend, former homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush, and former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers also met with Justice officials. Rogers was endorsed by the FBI Agents Association, which said his diverse background makes him the best choice for the job. He is the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who also worked as an FBI agent in Chicago in the 1990s.