The firing of FBI Director James Comey has reportedly sent morale plunging at an agency already enduring one of its most tumultuous periods in history.

Andrew McCabe, who was the FBI’s deputy director, has now become its acting head after Donald Trump ousted Mr Comey earlier this week. Mr McCabe is due to testify before senators.

Not everyone inside the FBI was a supporter of Mr Comey. But several reports said the way he was treated had left many feeling angry and frustrated. The Daily Beast said at least a dozen agents posted images on their private Facebook pages of themselves with Mr Comey, or else of Mr Comey alone.

Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017

The gesture is apparently usually reserved for a colleague who dies in the line of duty,

“The real impact will be the distrust of the agency under the leadership of the new director,” one agent told the website.