Maureen Groppe, Kevin Johnson and Tony Cook

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – President Trump will interview former Deputy FBI Director John Pistole and former Assistant Attorney General Chris Wray as candidates to take over the FBI, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

Pistole and Wray are meeting with Trump Tuesday afternoon at the White House, Spicer said, suggesting the the search for a new director was accelerating.

Pistole and Wray are the latest possible nominees to emerge in the search to replace James Comey, who was fired by the president earlier this month as he was running the FBI investigation into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia.

Pistole worked at the FBI from 1983 until 2010, serving in his final six years as deputy director. He later served as director of the Transportation Security Administration, leaving that post in 2014.

A former chief of the Justice Department's Criminal Division from 2003 to 2005, Wray served during the administration of President George W. Bush. During his time in the government, Wray was a member of the administration's Corporate Fraud Task Force and oversaw the fraud prosecutions of former executives at Enron Corp.

Pistole is the highest ranking former FBI official to be considered for the job. And his tenure as deputy director placed him in close proximity to then-FBI Director Robert Mueller, appointed earlier this month to oversee the bureau's investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Mueller was chosen by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein after Comey's dismissal and revelations that he kept notes of a February meeting indicating Trump asked him to close the agency’s investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Pistole praised the choice of Mueller in an interview with USA TODAY earlier this month, saying his appointment could be "the best thing for the FBI, to get to the bottom of everything and bring some closure, whatever the outcome."

Since Comey’s dismissal May 9, five people who were on the short list to replace him have taken themselves out of the running. They include former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Rep. Trey Gowdy and Sen. John Cornyn.

Pistole’s name surfaced early in speculation of who might be tapped because of his extensive law enforcement experience and strong reputation across both sides of the political aisle. But it was unclear if Pistole, now president of a Christian university in his hometown of Anderson, Ind., would want the job. He’s previously declined interview requests about the post.

Jay Abbott, special agent in charge of the FBI's Indianapolis office, said the job would be extremely difficult but Pistole would have broad support within the agency.

“He was known as the gentleman deputy director," Abbott said. "Rarely would his temperature rise. He pulled out the best in people."

Pistole remains close to Comey, who was a guest speaker at Anderson University when his former colleague was installed as president.

He is also close to Coats, the former U.S. Senator from Indiana who is now director of national intelligence. He and Vice President Pence, a former Indiana governor and congressman, also know each other well.

The deeply religious Pistole — it's pronounced "pistol" — can be hard-nosed in the face of political pressure, according to former colleagues, friends and family. But they say he is also humble and unassuming.

Born in Anderson, about 50 miles northeast of Indianapolis, his mother was a public school teacher and his father a Church of God minister who taught theology at Anderson University.

Pistole graduated from Anderson University and earned a law degree from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

He joined the FBI in 1983, eventually leading a white-collar crime squad in Indianapolis. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, he ran the agency's counterterrorism division in Washington, D.C. In 2004, he was named deputy director — the FBI's No. 2 position.

Six years later, President Barack Obama named him director of the TSA after struggling for more than a year to fill the top job at the agency that oversees security at the nation’s airports.

Pistole quickly became acquainted with controversy at the TSA, where the agency's use of full-body scanners and pat-downs caused public outcry over privacy concerns.

Despite pressure from the White House and members of Congress, Pistole defended the security measures, which were implemented after an attempted Christmas Day attack involving a nonmetallic bomb concealed in the would-be bomber's underwear.

"My goal is to use the best technology, the best training techniques and tactics to try to defeat the terrorists," he told IndyStar in September 2010. "Whatever it takes, that's what I'm pursuing."

He later promised to make the searches "as minimally invasive as possible" and sought to reassure Congress and the public that precautions were in place to protect privacy. The scanners, for example, did not store images and TSA officers were prohibited from having cameras or cellphones in the rooms where images were displayed.

Despite that controversy and others, Pistole was widely credited with boosting the agency's professionalism and shifting its approach to risk-based screening that focuses greater scrutiny on travelers less known to authorities.

In 2014, he passed up more lucrative private-sector opportunities to become president of his alma mater, a small, 2,300-student university in Pistole's hometown.

Pistole's decision to move back to Indiana was characteristic, friends say, of a man they describe as surprisingly modest for someone of his background.