Dan Bongino is storming back onto Fox News, reclaiming his seat as a contributor after a turbulent, nearly year-long detour inside the federal bureaucracy as deputy director of the FBI under President Donald Trump.

The comeback is expected to be unveiled in dramatic fashion Monday night during Sean Hannity’s 9:00 p.m. ET broadcast, according to reporting from The New York Times media reporter Michael Grynbaum. For conservatives who’ve missed Bongino’s hard-charging media presence, the return marks a familiar voice reentering the fight.

Sources tell Mediaite that Bongino’s first on-air appearance will zero in on the Nancy Guthrie case, signaling that he won’t be easing back in — he’ll be jumping straight into controversy.

Bongino’s exit from the FBI late last year surprised few who knew him well. Even early in his tenure, Bongino openly acknowledged the personal cost of leaving media behind. Just weeks after taking the job, he admitted on Fox & Friends that the move came with serious regrets.

“I gave up everything for this,” Bongino said at the time.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham echoed that sentiment when Bongino stepped away from the bureau in December, noting she wasn’t shocked by the decision. She pointed out that Bongino “loved his lucrative media life” and clearly wanted to “get back to it.”

And get back to it he has.

Bongino quickly rebooted his wildly popular podcast on Rumble, restoring a platform that had become a staple for grassroots conservatives. His return to independent media drew immediate attention — including from President Trump himself, who appeared on Bongino’s first show back.

If there was any tension over Bongino leaving the administration, it didn’t show.

During the appearance, Trump made headlines of his own, calling for Republicans to take aggressive action to protect election integrity. The president argued the voting system should be “nationalized” to stop what he described as Democrat-run states enabling illegal voting.

“These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally,” Trump said. “And it’s amazing the Republicans aren’t tougher on it. The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over, we should take over the voting in at least 15 places.’”

Bongino’s return to Fox News feels less like a reunion and more like a restoration. He first began appearing on the network around 2013, became an official contributor in 2019, and later hosted Unfiltered, building a loyal audience before parting ways with the channel in 2023.