Ex-Justice Dept official pulls name from consideration to replace Comey: reports

A former Justice Department official has withdrawn her name from consideration to replace former FBI Director James Comey, according to multiple reports.

{mosads}Former Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, has removed herself from the White House’s shortlist, CNN and Fox News each reported Wednesday. 

Trump has been holding interviews to replace Comey since he dropped the bombshell news last week that he had fired the bureau chief. 

The president pledged Saturday that he would move quickly to name a new FBI director, suggesting he would name a new bureau chief before leaving for his first foreign trip this Friday.

Trump’s list of possible replacements for Comey includes several attorneys, lawmakers and law enforcement officials, however multiple candidates on the shortlist have already pulled their name from consideration.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn was on Trump’s list, but said in a statement that the upper chamber is his top priority. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said Monday that he is “not the right person” to replace Comey, despite Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the head of the Justice Department, speaking with him about running the agency.

Cornyn and Fisher interviewed to serve as the FBI’s permanent director last Saturday, a source told The Hill.

Acting FBI Director James McCabe and Judge Michael J. Garcia of the New York Court of Appeals also reportedly spoke with Sessions and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein.

Updated at 5:15 p.m.