On May 10, Comey sent a letter to FBI staff in which he said, "I have long believed that a president can fire an FBI director for any reason, or for no reason at all. I'm not going to spend time on the decision or the way it was executed. I hope you won't either. It is done, and I will be fine, although I will miss you and the mission deeply." In the absence of a Senate-confirmed FBI director, McCabe automatically became Acting Director.