Good evening. I'm Amna Nawaz. Jeff Bennett is away. On the news hour tonight, FBI director Chris Ray announces his resignation, paving the way for President-elect Trump's choice of Kash Patel to take charge.

Syria's uncertain future after the fall of Bashad al-Assad raises concerns about instability

in the region.

And Judy Woodruff speaks with political analysts about whether the nation can unite in the wake

of the presidential election.

This really is a test of who we are.

Do I believe we can do it?

I believe that we have to believe we can do it or we have guaranteed that we cannot.

Welcome to the News Hour.

In a highly unusual move, the director of the FBI is stepping down.

Christopher Ray announced today that he intends to leave his position when President-elect

Donald Trump takes office in January.

That comes after Mr. Trump named Cash Patel as his nominee to run the FBI, despite the fact that Trump was the one who appointed Ray, and Ray was serving a 10-year term that wasn't set to end until 2027.

Speaking to FBI employees, Ray addressed his decision to resign.

My goal is to keep the focus on our mission, on the indispensable work each of you is doing

every single day.

And in my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray

while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important in how we do

our work.

Our White House correspondent Laura Barone Lopez has been following the developments

and joins us now.

So Laura, what else did Chris Ray say in those remarks?

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