WASHINGTON -- The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to vet Christopher Wray, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI, on July 12, the panel's chairman announced Wednesday.
Wray's confirmation hearing comes several weeks after he was tapped to replace the ousted James Comey for a full, 10-year term.
Wray has deep roots in Georgia. He started as an attorney at Atlanta-based legal giant King & Spalding in 1993 and served between 1997 and 2001 as an assistant U.S. Attorney in Atlanta before being confirmed to lead the Justice Department’s criminal division under President George W. Bush. He has since returned to King & Spalding as a partner with offices in Atlanta and Washington, where he represented New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during the "Bridgegate" scandal.
His wife Helen's Georgia ties go even deeper. Her family has lived in Atlanta for seven generations and her great-grandfather, Clark Howell, once owned The Atlanta Constitution.
Wray is sure to be barraged with questions from Democrats about his would-be independence from Trump and alleged coordination between the president's campaign and Russia.
Neither Johnny Isakson nor David Perdue, Georgia's two GOP senators, sit on the Judiciary Committee, but it's not uncommon for senators to introduce nominees from their home state before confirmation hearings.
