By Steve Neavling
Donald Trump has ordered the Justice Department to remove all remaining U.S. attorneys appointed during the Biden administration, an apparent effort to eliminate prosecutors who might push back against his agenda.
“I have instructed the termination of ALL remaining ‘Biden Era’ U.S. Attorneys,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Tuesday. “We must ‘clean house’ IMMEDIATELY, and restore confidence. America’s Golden Age must have a fair Justice System – THAT BEGINS TODAY!”
It’s common for a new administration to replace U.S. attorneys, but Trump’s approach is more aggressive than usual, demanding immediate terminations rather than requesting resignations, the Guardian reports.
The move comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi and acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove work to steer the Justice Department toward Trump’s political priorities. The administration embraces the unitary executive theory, which holds that the president has direct control over all federal agencies.
Bove, overseeing the department’s daily operations, recently dismissed a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The decision followed the administration’s broader focus on illegal immigration, with Bove’s memo arguing that helping a mayor willing to assist in deportations took precedence over pursuing criminal charges.
Even before Trump’s post, the administration had already begun ousting about 20 holdover U.S. attorneys from the 93 offices nationwide. The White House sent termination notices last week, cutting their access to government phones and computers.
The firings were delivered via brief, one-sentence emails: “At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as U.S. Attorney is terminated, effective immediately.”
However, not all attorneys initially received the messages. Some notices were sent to internal Justice Department email addresses that only accept messages from department staff, leaving some attorneys in the dark until they lost access to their systems. The Justice Department later confirmed their removal.
