Robert S. Mueller III was the first FBI Director to be appointed to a second term, and this was
done under special statutory arrangements. He was first confirmed by the Senate on August 2,
2001, with a term of office that expired in September 2011. In May 2011, President Barack
Obama announced his intention to seek legislation that would extend Mueller’s term of office for
two years. Legislation that would allow Mueller to
be nominated to an additional, two-year term
was considered and passed in the Senate and the House, and President Obama signed the bill into
law (P.L. 112-24) on July 26, 2011. Mueller subsequently was nominated and confirmed to the
two-year term, and he served until September 4, 2013
Prior to the implementation of the current nomin
ation and confirmation process, J. Edgar Hoover
was Director of the FBI for nearly 48 years.
3
He held the position from May 10, 1924, until his
death on May 2, 1972.
4
The current process dates from 1968, when the FBI Director was first
established as a presidentially appointed position requiring Senate confirmation in an amendment
to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.
5
The proposal for a presidentially
appointed Director had been introduced and passed in the Senate twice previously,
6
but had never
made it through the House. Floor debate in the Senate focused on the inevitable end of Hoover’s
tenure (due to his advanced age), the vast expansion of the FBI’s size and role under his direction,
and the need for Congress to strengthen its oversight role in the wake of his departure.
7
In 1976,
the 10-year limit for any one incumbent was added as part of the Crime Control Act of 1976.
8
This provision also prohibits the reappointment of
an incumbent. As with the previous measure,
