By Steve Neavling
The Justice Department is losing attorneys at an unprecedented rate under President Trump, with thousands of career employees leaving and few replacements in sight, according to a new report, The Independent reports.
Since January, nearly 5,500 DOJ staffers have quit, taken buyouts, or been fired, the advocacy group Justice Connection told The Independent. The group said its estimates are based on both public and non-public data. The result is a department facing widespread vacancies and a shrinking pool of qualified applicants, The Washington Post reported.
Once considered a premier destination for elite legal talent, the DOJ is now struggling to recruit amid fears of political interference and purges of prosecutors viewed as disloyal. Sources told the Post that many lawyers no longer see the department as independent or stable.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has ousted longtime prosecutors from cases deemed “anti-Trump,” including those who handled January 6 prosecutions. Nearly the entire Civil Rights Division, which is about 600 employees and roughly 80 immigration judges, have also departed.
Turnover has hit U.S. attorneys’ offices nationwide. In Chicago, U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros recently emailed former prosecutors asking if they’d consider returning.
‘“I was astonished,” said Mark Rotert, a former federal prosecutor who received the message. “I have never seen anything like that.”
In Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said her office lost 90 prosecutors this year.
“Staff shortages preceded my arrival here,” Pirro told The Independent. “Thanks to President Trump, we are aggressively working to rebuild and strengthen our team.”
William Treanor, former dean of Georgetown Law, said the drop in applications is historic.
“What we are seeing is a total drop in who is applying,” he said. “It’s gone from a good amount of our graduating class to virtually no one applying for jobs at the Justice Department.”
Many young attorneys are now seeking positions in state government instead, while those still applying to the DOJ tend to share Trump’s political views, according to the report.
