Since January, nearly 5,500 career employees at the DOJ have quit, taken a buyout, or been fired

The Department of Justice has been hemorrhaging staff under President Donald Trump, with thousands of attorneys leaving and few being hired to replace them, according to a new report.

Since January, nearly 5,500 DOJ career employees have quit, taken a buyout, or been fired, according to Justice Connection, an advocacy group composed of department alumni.

A Justice Connection spokesperson told The Independent that its estimates are based on both public reporting and non-public information the group has gathered.

As a result, the department is grappling with sweeping vacancies amidst a dearth of qualified applicants, according to The Washington Post.

Historically, the Justice Department — which employs more than 10,000 attorneys nationwide — has been a magnet for top legal talent, drawing applicants from Ivy League schools and white shoe law firms. But sources told the outlet that the recent mass firings and concerns about politically motivated prosecutions may be driving people away.

A department spokesperson told The Independent, “The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring taxpayer dollars are used efficiently by hiring the best and most qualified individuals to serve the American people.”

  • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
    10·
    20 hours ago

    I was just reading how many of those who have been fired, are forming boutique law firms, each with a different mission to resist the administration. One is handling immigration issues, one is handling fired federal workers, etc. These are lawyers who used to work for the DoJ, now suing the DoJ, so they know how to most effectively craft their attack. Let’s face it, people like Bondi and Patel, have no idea what they are doing. They should be easy to beat by experienced people, who know those jobs far better.

    From the beginning of this administration, as they were firing all these lawyers and Generals, I was saying that it was incredibly stupid. All they are doing is firing their most experienced and knowledgeable employees, and replacing them with MAGA loyalists, which automatically makes them Stupid.

    So they have built their own powerful resistance force, who knows the territory, and will to counter it with new, inexperienced, replacements, who are and embarrassingly ignorant of the law in general.

    It will be like a Battle Royale between Navy Seals and a Girl Scout patrol.

  • Regna@lemmy.world
    19·
    2 days ago

    Next, there will be an executive decision to rename it ”Department of Crime”.

  • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
    31·
    2 days ago

    Get hired on condition that they get to investigate the President and his cronies.

  • vortic@lemmy.world
    10·
    2 days ago

    I hope the lawyers keep quitting and no one replaces them until this administration has been tossed in the trash. I worry that if lawyers with consciences don’t come back, though, their positions will be filled by sycophants. I also worry that once the Democrats take back over they will be unwilling to fire the new right-wing sycophants.

    • LordMayor@piefed.socialEnglish
      14·
      2 days ago

      The big problem, according to what I’ve been reading, will be that government jobs don’t pay as well as private sector jobs but good lawyers would work for the DoJ for:

      • the prestige/experience and/or
      • the job security.

      Those reasons have been utterly destroyed by this administration. The first reason might be revived but the second one, like all federal jobs now, will take a long time to be trusted.

    • njm1314@lemmy.world
      11·
      2 days ago

      You mean you’re worried if lawyers with conscious don’t come back after this administration or after this string of fascist administrations to follow right?