Justice Department Hiring Attorneys Seen As ‘Loyal’ To Trump
The Justice Department is reportedly forming a legal team tasked with defending the most debated aspects of President Donald Trump’s policy goals in court, according to a report released Monday.
To support this initiative, the department has let go of certain long-serving attorneys viewed as hindrances and has brought in numerous politically appointed lawyers aligned with Trump's priorities, The Washington Post noted. However, the outlet omitted the common practice that every administration brings in staffers seen as “loyal” or supportive of the president’s vision.
“The new hires are already appearing on behalf of the government to defend Trump’s efforts to remake immigration policy and the federal workforce and to expand the powers of the presidency,” the report stated. “They sometimes sit in front of judges alone, without the cadre of veteran attorneys who typically show up for big cases.”
The Post also acknowledged that some of these new appointees are seasoned professionals with impressive legal experience.
“Some have prestigious conservative credentials, clerking for Supreme Court justices and top federal judges, according to a review of the new hires’ professional bios posted on LinkedIn,” the article added. “Others are fresh out of law school, taking on influential positions. Many honed their legal skills working for conservative state attorneys general during the Biden administration.”
This hiring wave is part of a broader strategy by Trump’s administration to reduce the sway of long-standing bureaucrats and replace them with personnel more ideologically in step with the president’s platform. This approach, laid out through public declarations, executive directives, and conversations with current and former Justice Department employees—many speaking anonymously—signals a clear intent to reshape the federal bureaucracy in line with Trump’s vision, according to the Post.
The outlet went on to note, somewhat passively, a rationale for these changes.
“Meanwhile, many longtime attorneys are fleeing in frustration with Trump’s policies and a new culture within the department that does not permit dissent, some of the current and former agency officials said,” the report noted.
Of course, what some officials call “dissent” during Trump’s first term often escalated into full-on resistance to his policy direction. That opposition within the DOJ at times manifested as baseless claims—such as the now-debunked ‘Russian collusion’ narrative—and politically motivated investigations that hindered Trump’s administration.
This time around, the Post reported, Trump and his allies are more focused on embedding personnel who are aligned with his policy goals and prepared to implement them.
“Trump has issued an executive order calling for many longtime senior career staff positions that are considered ‘policy-influencing’ to be flipped to political appointments,” the article stated. “That could allow him and his allies to install loyalists in key positions without going through the hiring process required for staffers in the civil service.”
Justice Department spokesperson Gates McGavick released a statement supporting the changes: “Attorney General Bondi’s Department of Justice is helping execute the agenda President Trump ran and won on: arresting and prosecuting criminals, seizing deadly drugs, ending the weaponization of justice, and protecting the authority of the executive branch from judicial overreach.”
Back in December, USA Today highlighted that President Biden was making efforts to “Trump-proof” the federal government — as well as his legacy — in anticipation of a potential shift in power.
“As he prepares to leave office, Biden is looking to cement a legacy of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” the outlet wrote.
“And he is challenging the very people who have opposed his agenda ‒ Republican lawmakers ‒ to help preserve the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, a centerpiece of Biden’s economic agenda. The outgoing president is trying to guard the law that unleashed billions in financial incentives aimed at spurring the construction of factories that produce clean-energy products,” the article continued.
“It’s one of several far-reaching Biden-era laws and policies that President-elect Donald Trump has promised to unravel in his second term when Republicans gain full control of Congress in addition to the White House,” it concluded.