Source: The Political Insider | By Walter White

During the 2016 presidential campaign, FBI Director James Comey was an extremely polarizing figure due to his controversial handling of his agency’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s illegal private email server.

At times, both President Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton both praised and criticized Comey’s performance at the FBI, leaving many to speculate that his future as the agency’s director might not be safe under a new administration.

Now, we have just learned that President Trump intends to retain James Comey as the head of the FBI, putting to rest questions that the president would ask for his letter of resignation.

Fox News Confirms: FBI Director James Comey will stay on the job for the time being, a law enforcement source says. https://t.co/vEuiMLvy9u pic.twitter.com/GxMMHPVhZH

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 24, 2017

From Fox News:

President Trump has decided to retain controversial FBI Director James Comey, two law enforcement sources confirmed to Fox News, just months after Comey’s revelations about Hillary Clinton’s emails twice rocked the presidential race.

Comey has already alerted members of the FBI workforce that Trump asked him to stay on the job. He’s currently serving a 10-year term that expires in 2023.

Comey had been alternately praised and lambasted by Trump on the campaign trail. Tuesday’s news means Trump will avert a new confirmation fight and also helps the president avoid any appearance of impropriety.

Comey reportedly is investigating Trump associates’ ties to Russia, and some agents also may still be looking at The Clinton Foundation, as Fox News has previously reported.

People took to Twitter to express their thoughts on President Trump retaining Director Comey, some were congratulatory and others were slightly more critical:

Best news we’ve heard all week. Let the #Clinton investigation continue. #ClintonCash https://t.co/vxWhU9ZQfr

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 24, 2017

James Comey spent 15 years looking for a chance to get the Clintons—and it came in November https://t.co/cd7I5vTiCg

— Daily Kos (@dailykos) January 20, 2017

A decision to keep James Comey as FBI director would spare Trump another potentially bruising confirmation battle https://t.co/lT5kF9PFws

— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 24, 2017

Conservatives were rightly upset with James Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton investigation, especially after his agency took the unusual steps of not recommending charges instead of simply releasing their findings to prosecutors. This pick is going to be very interesting!