McCabe, Sen. Cornyn Among 4 to Be Interviewed in FBI Search: Sources

The acting FBI director, Sen. John Cornyn, an attorney and a New York appeals court judge will be interviewed in the first wave of a search to replace fired agency director James Comey, multiple sources told NBC News on Friday.

The interviews will begin Saturday, the sources said.

Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Sen. Cornyn (R-Texas), attorney and former assistant U.S. attorney general Alice Fisher and New York appeals court Judge Michael Garcia are slated to be interviewed, the sources said.

The four candidates will meet with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the sources said. Comey was fired by President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Another name mentioned publicly is former House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers. He is not among those to be interviewed this weekend but sources say he could be included in a next round of meetings should the process continue.

Cornyn, a former Texas Supreme Court justice and former Texas attorney general, issued a statement on Friday in which he said he remained focused on his constituents.

"I have the distinct privilege of serving 28 million Texans in the United States Senate, and that is where my focus remains," Cornyn, who is majority whip in the Senate, said in the statement.

McCabe has served for 20 years with the FBI and was appointed deputy director in 2016. He was appointed acting director of the agency after Comey was fired.

Garcia, an associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals, was nominated to that court by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January of 2016 and confirmed a month later.

Garcia was U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2005 to 2008, nominated by President George W. Bush. He previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the district, and also served as acting commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Fisher is a former assistant U.S. attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's criminal division and is now a partner in Latham & Watkins' Washington, D.C. office. If nominated and confirmed, she would be the first woman to lead the FBI.

Fisher was in charge of the criminal division of the Justice Department when lobbyist Jack Abramoff was prosecuted in a corruption case. When he pleaded guilty to three counts Fisher said: "Government officials and government action are not for sale."

Fisher also testified in support of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was confirmed in April to replace the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.

This post first appeared on NBC NEWS.