A former FBI analyst who quit due to disagreements with President Donald Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel declared his intention to run for Congress.
John Sullivan announced that he is running against Republican Representative Michael Lawler in the 17th Congressional District of New York.
“For 17 years, I served in secret, protecting us from threats like Russia, foreign terrorists, and drug cartels, and eventually the insurrectionists who stormed our Capitol,” Sullivan wrote online. “Now, I’m stepping out of the shadows to run for Congress.”
“I’m a dad, a husband, a public servant, and a cancer survivor,” he added in his campaign video.
Sullivan also labeled Rep. Lawler “Elon Musk’s favorite congressman.”
According to Sullivan, he left the bureau in April due to the Trump administration. Trump and Patel were denounced by him as dangers to “American safety and security.”
“Last week, after nearly 17 years on the job, I resigned from the FBI,” he posted on X. “I saw the threat Donald Trump and Kash Patel are to American safety and security and I couldn’t stand idly by any more.”
Sullivan posted a link to his complete resignation letter on Substack, in which he bemoaned Trump’s decision to pardon about 1,500 people involved in the January 6 incident. Those who were pardoned, he claimed, were “violent insurrectionists.”
“I’ve listened as employees recounted harrowing moments when violent insurrectionists, within hours of release, called their homes and threatened revenge,” Sullivan wrote. “These threats are real because Trump released 1,500 violent insurrectionists into our communities.”
Sullivan also tweeted that working on January 6 cases was “one of [his] proudest moments in the FBI.”
For 17 years, I served in secret, protecting us from threats like Russia, foreign terrorists and drug cartels, and eventually the insurrectionists who stormed our Capitol.
— John Sullivan (@FBI_Sullivan) April 22, 2025
Now, I’m stepping out of the shadows to run for Congress. pic.twitter.com/CV7XYsR2ix
In FBI Director Kash Patel’s first full month in charge, the bureau has received a record number of applications for new agents.
The number of people looking for jobs in law enforcement has more than doubled the monthly average since 2016.
Fox News reported that 5,577 new applications for FBI agents were sent in March. The last time that number was even close to that in a month was April 2016, when 5,283 applications came in.
According to FBI data looked at by Fox News Digital, the average number of applications per month in 2023 was 2,797, and the average number of applications per month in 2024 was 3,383.
“Director Patel and Deputy Director (Dan) Bongino have put a major emphasis on restoring confidence in federal law enforcement and boosting new agent recruiting. These record early returns certainly suggest the new FBI is heading in the right direction,” FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Fox News Wednesday.
Records from the FBI show that since January, they have received more than 10,000 applications for new agents.
The FBI got 4,143 applications to join in January, the first month of the Trump administration and the month of Patel’s nomination and confirmation hearing. This was the first month since August 2020 that the FBI got that many applications for a new agent.
“The record number of FBI job applications in March shows that people are inspired by Kash Patel’s commitment to restoring integrity and effectiveness at the bureau,” Patel advisor Erica Knight told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “Americans are putting their trust in his leadership to rebuild the FBI and keep our communities safe.”
“Kash is dedicated to creating a stronger, more trusted FBI that serves the American people the way it was always meant to,” Knight said.
During his Senate confirmation hearing in late January, Patel illustrated the “erosion of trust” at the bureau, pointing to polling revealing that “only 40% of Americans hold a favorable view of the FBI.”
“This must change,” Patel testified. “Public cooperation is vital for the bureau to solve crimes, and its declining reputation is already affecting recruitment efforts.”
Patel and Bongino have put a lot of effort into hiring new agents and boosting morale among police officers by “letting good cops be cops.” This is why there are a record number of applications.
In March, Patel put out an FBI recruitment video that showed the director working with agents in the field and displaying footage from the hostage rescue team facility that asked people to join the team.
The video ends with a graphic showing the FBI seal and the words, “A renewed mission. A stronger future.”
“Apply today at FBIJobs.gov,” the video says.
Patel and Bongino also have privately emphasized to their staff the importance of boosting local partner engagement.
