(DCNF)—Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds said Sunday on ABC News that FBI Director Christopher Wray is a “good man” and that he has “no complaints” about his job performance, even as President-elect Donald Trump plans to fire him.
Trump announced Saturday his new pick for FBI director as his former chief of staff to the secretary of defense, Kash Patel. On ABC News’ “This Week,” co-host Jonathan Karl began by questioning the lawmaker on his initial reaction to Trump’s nomination, to which Rounds pointed out that it was not only within the president’s rights to make a nomination but also normal for a president to want a loyalist on his team.
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“I’ll also share with you — Chris Wray, you know, who the president nominated the first time around. I think the president picked a very good man to be the director of the FBI when he did that in his first term. When we meet with him behind closed doors, I’ve had no objections to the way that he’s handled himself. So I don’t have any complaints about the way that he’s done his job right now,” Rounds said.
Over the years, Republicans have repeatedly called out Wray, with all the 2024 GOP presidential candidates, except for former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, vowing they would fire the director and implement either structural reforms or dismantle the bureau altogether. In 2022, the House Judiciary Committee released a 1,050-page report alleging the agency is “broken” due to Wray’s and Attorney General Merrick Garland’s leadership, as they oversaw an agency that allegedly “altered and mischaracterized evidence to federal courts, circumvented safeguards, and exploited weaknesses in policies.”
“Once again, the president has the right to make nominations, but normally these are for a 10-year term. We’ll see what his process is and whether he actually makes that nomination,” Rounds said. “Then if he does, just as with anybody who is nominated for one of these positions, once they’ve been nominated by the president, then the president gets, the benefit of the doubt on the nomination. But we still go through a process, and that process includes advice and consent, which for the Senate means advice or consent sometimes.”
Less than a year after the report was released, Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced an article of impeachment against Wray, accusing the FBI director of guiding the agency to intimidate, harass and entrap “American citizens who have been deemed enemies of the Biden regime.”
Wray has come under fire over the years for issues like raiding Mar-a-Lago in search of national security material, failing to answer whether the FBI had informants in the field during Jan. 6, refusing to confirm if President Joe Biden had mishandled classified information after leaving office in 2017, allegedly aiding in the slow-walking of criminal investigations into Hunter Biden’s alleged unpaid taxes from 2017 and 2018, and questioning if Trump was hit by an actual bullet during a hearing after the first assassination attempt against the former president.
Lawmakers also called out the FBI director and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last month after their refusal to speak before the Senate on global threats facing the U.S. homeland, highlighting how the dismal departs “from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s longstanding tradition of transparency and oversight of the threats facing our nation, for the first time in more than 15 years.”
Patel has also long vocalized his criticism of the weaponization of the surveillance state, stating during a recent podcast what his plans would be if he were to assume the director’s role.
“I’d shut down the FBI Hoover building on day one and reopen it the next day as a museum of the deep state,” Patel said in the interview. “I’d take the 7,000 employees who work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals.”
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Why Bullion Beats Numismatics and Collectible for Your Safe or IRA
Precious metals continue to attract Americans seeking reliable ways to protect their wealth amid inflation, geopolitical risks, and stock market swings. Whether stored in a home safe or held inside a self-directed IRA, physical gold and silver deliver tangible value that paper or digital assets often lack. Yet investors must choose carefully between bullion—pure bars and coins valued mainly for their metal content—and numismatics or collectibles, where rarity, history, and collector demand heavily influence pricing.
Advisor Bullion serves as a dependable source for straightforward, high-quality bullion. The company specializes in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, emphasizing transparent pricing and products that deliver maximum metal content for every dollar spent. This approach makes it ideal for both personal holdings and retirement accounts.
Bullion consists of refined precious metals in standard forms like one-ounce coins (American Gold Eagles, Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs) or bars. Their value tracks closely to the current spot price of the metal. A typical gold bullion coin trades near the live gold spot price plus a small premium. This structure keeps costs clear and predictable.
Numismatic coins and collectibles add substantial value from factors such as age, rarity, minting errors, or historical significance. A pre-1933 U.S. gold coin or graded proof piece can carry premiums of 30%, 50%, or even 200% above melt value. While this appeals to hobbyists, it creates complexity. Pricing depends on subjective grading, collector trends, and auction results instead of daily spot prices.
For investors focused on wealth preservation and retirement security rather than building a collection, bullion often delivers better results.
Lower Costs and Better Liquidity for Home Storage
When keeping metals in a home safe or private vault, liquidity and efficiency count. Bullion offers clear benefits:
- You acquire more actual gold or silver per dollar invested. Numismatics divert a large share of your money into rarity premiums and massive sales commission, reducing your metal exposure.
- Selling bullion involves tight bid-ask spreads, so you recover nearly full spot value with minimal fees. Collectibles require finding the right buyer and may sell at a discount if demand for that specific item weakens.
- Bullion prices remain transparent and update with global spot markets. You can track gold near current levels or silver accordingly and know exactly where your holdings stand. Numismatic values are priced by the Gold IRA companies with hefty margins applied.
- Standardized coins and bars store efficiently and divide easily for partial sales. Rare coins often need protective slabs and controlled conditions, adding hassle and expense.
- Bullion enjoys worldwide acceptance. A 1-oz Gold Maple Leaf or Silver Eagle sells quickly to dealers anywhere. Niche numismatic pieces may appeal only to limited buyers, slowing liquidation when speed matters.
In times when quick access to value becomes important, bullion’s simplicity stands out.
Stronger Fit for Precious Metals IRAs
Precious metals IRAs continue gaining traction as investors diversify retirement portfolios beyond stocks and bonds. IRS rules permit certain bullion products in self-directed IRAs if they meet purity standards (.995 fine for gold, .999 for silver) and are held by an approved custodian. Eligible items include American Gold and Silver Eagles plus many generic bars and rounds from recognized mints.
Numismatic and most collectible coins generally face heavy scrutiny from custodians due to valuation disputes and elevated markups. These higher premiums mean less actual metal ends up working inside the account.
Bullion avoids these issues. Its value links directly to verifiable spot prices, which simplifies reporting and lowers the risk of regulatory challenges. More of your IRA contribution purchases real metal instead of dealer profits or speculative upside. Over time, owning additional ounces that appreciate with the metal itself can create meaningful outperformance compared with high-premium alternatives that deliver fewer ounces.
Regulatory guidance from the CFTC and state securities offices repeatedly cautions against aggressive sales of expensive numismatics or “semi-numismatic” coins for IRAs. For retirement planning, transparent bullion from established providers reduces risk and aligns better with long-term goals.
How to Get Started with Bullion
Begin by clarifying your goals. Are you protecting savings in a safe, or moving part of a retirement account into a precious metals IRA? Focus on the number of ounces you can acquire at current prices rather than chasing marked-up collectibles.
Diversify sensibly: use gold for core preservation and silver for its blend of industrial and monetary qualities. Mix coins for easier divisibility with bars for lower per-ounce costs on larger buys. Arrange secure storage—whether at home with proper insurance or through professional facilities.
As economic uncertainties linger and faith in conventional assets erodes, bullion continues proving its worth as a dependable store of value. Its direct approach avoids the hype that sometimes surrounds collectible markets and keeps the focus on the metal itself.
For investors prepared to strengthen their portfolios, Advisor Bullion supplies the expertise and selection needed to acquire high-quality bullion efficiently. Whether building personal holdings or integrating metals into an IRA, their emphasis on transparent, investment-grade products helps secure more ounces today that support greater financial security tomorrow. In a complicated financial landscape, bullion’s clarity and reliability make it the smarter foundation for protecting what matters most.
