- FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed exasperation that House Republicans would think he's biased against conservatives.
- Wray, who is a Republican, called the suggestion "somewhat insane."
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday looked like a man without a party as House Republicans grilled him for hours.
Some of Wray's harshest critics teed off on the director, arguing that the FBI is biased against Republicans while it pulls its punches on President Joe Biden's family. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, quipped that the infamous J. Edgar Hoover was a better leader of America's top law enforcement agency. At one point, Wray took the opportunity to once again dismiss the persistent online conspiracy theory that the FBI "orchestrated" the January 6 Capitol riot.
Wray also began to snap back, at one point expressing shock that anyone would suggest he's biased against conservatives.
Wray is a registered Republican.
"The idea that I'm biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me given my own personal background," he said in response to Rep. Harriet Hageman, a Wyoming Republican, who pressed him about a "two-tier" system of justice.
The onslaught led Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican, to quip that he hoped Wray wouldn't leave the party.
"According to Wikipedia, you're still a registered Republican, and I hope you don't change your party registration after this hearing is over," Buck said during the hearing.
The reception illustrates the fury many conservatives hold for the FBI and Wray.
It wasn't always this way.
Former President Donald Trump appointed Wray to be director, applauding his "impeccable credentials." No Republicans, and only five Senate Democrats, opposed his confirmation. A former Justice Department official, Wray had been then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's personal attorney during the Bridgegate fiasco. Over the years, Wray had donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republican lawmakers.
President Donald Trump has led a barrage of criticism against the bureau for years that has led to sharply polarized views of the agency. Conservatives have pointed to documented wrongdoing, such as Inspector General Michael Horowitz and special counsel John Durham's respective reports as further evidence that something is amok.
If elected, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to fire Wray on day one of his presidency. House conservatives have also pushed to either significantly the agency's funding or abolish the FBI entirely.
Buck told CNN after the hearing that he has cautioned his colleagues when it comes to discussing the FBI funding. The GOP, Buck said, made great political hay out of liberal talk to "defund the police" Surely, Republicans wouldn't turn around and then defund the nation's top law enforcement agency.
"Obviously, if the FBI has inefficient programs or wasteful programs, absolutely we should look at reducing that as part of a deficit reduction plan," Buck told CNN's Jake Tapper.
The Colorado Republican then offered a nearly full-throated defense of the bureau.
"To target the FBI as punishment is absurd," he said. "They are in charge of leading the effort on counterterrorism, counterintelligence, Chinese and Russian spies, they are leading the effort on white-collar crime, human trafficking, to say we're going to cut an agency that performs such a vital function in the United States government is really irresponsible."