WASHINGTON — David Sundberg, the assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, was notified Thursday that he was going to lose his job and is preparing to leave the bureau, according to two senior law enforcement sources — the latest step in an unprecedented purge of top executives at FBI headquarters as well as leadership in FBI field offices across the country.
Sundberg is the highest-ranking field agent so far to be fired from the FBI.
Sundberg, who joined the FBI in 2002, was put in charge of the Washington Field Office by then-FBI Director Christopher Wray in December 2022. It is one of the highest-profile positions an agent can achieve in the field at the FBI.
Special agents from the Washington Field Office were heavily involved in former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations of now-President Donald Trump, as well as the sprawling investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol that resulted in criminal charges against hundreds.
News of Sundberg’s departure comes amid a broader slate of firings hitting leadership at the bureau. NBC News reported that as many as eight senior executives at FBI headquarters have been told to resign or be fired. New faces are coming in, too, with a Republican Capitol Hill staffer as well as an affiliate of Elon Musk have taken on leadership roles within bureau headquarters.