The U.S. Department of Justice has eliminated a policy requiring newly hired federal prosecutors to have at least 1 year of legal practice experience, as the agency faces ongoing hiring challenges in recruiting like-minded federal prosecutors.
According to the American Bar Association, the number of attorneys working at the Justice Department has declined from roughly 10,000 in 2024.
Advertisement
However, some see the move as the department losing left-leaning attorneys who are not on board with the Trump administration’s priorities.
While updated figures have not been publicly released, about 5,500 employees—not all of whom are attorneys—have left the department through firings, resignations, or retirements since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The turnover has created opportunities for private law firms, political organizations, and local prosecutors’ offices to recruit former DOJ attorneys.
The outlet obtained copies of a message sent out by the Justice Department with the subject line “Suspension of Attorney One-Year requirement.”
Advertisement
The memo, as relayed by Bloomberg, declared, “This suspension is in effect until February 28, 2027, and was implemented due to an exigent hiring need for attorneys across the Department.”
In a statement to Bloomberg about the recent hiring initiative, an unnamed spokesperson from the DOJ emphasized the department’s commitment to supporting “young and passionate prosecutors.”
“This Department of Justice is proud to empower young and passionate prosecutors and offer attorneys at every level the opportunity to invest their talents into keeping their communities safe, including from the predators the previous administration welcomed with open arms,” the statement noted.
Critics say that says more about the left-wing slant of the law school than anything else, given that the current DOJ is in the hands of an unapologetically Republican administration.
This comes as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said he is already working on ways to prevent what he believes could be another round of politically motivated prosecutions targeting President Trump after he leaves office.
Blanche made the remarks during an interview with NewsNation released Thursday, not long after Trump announced he would formally nominate him to become the nation’s next attorney general.
The comments offered a glimpse into how Blanche views the legal and political battles surrounding Trump and signaled that the administration is actively thinking about what happens after the president’s second term ends in January 2029.
Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney in multiple criminal cases, became acting attorney general after Trump dismissed Pam Bondi in April.
Since taking over, Blanche has quickly emerged as one of Trump’s most trusted allies inside the Justice Department, advancing investigations involving some of the president’s longtime political opponents while also defending the administration’s legal agenda.
During the interview, NewsNation host Katie Pavlich referenced Blanche’s previous claim that Trump likely would have faced prison time had he lost the 2024 election.
Pavlich asked Blanche whether he believes Democrats could attempt to target Trump, his family, administration officials, or even federal law enforcement personnel after the president leaves office.
“I believe it’s a possibility that the Democrats will go after President Trump, his family, anybody that knows him, anybody that worked for him,” Blanche said.
“And what can we do about it?” Blanche asked.
“We can just keep on exposing when we learn about the weaponization that happened for many years. We can keep on exposing it and putting roadblocks in place so it never happens again,” Blanche added.
He added that some Democrats have already publicly discussed pursuing investigations into members of the Trump administration if they regain power.
The acting attorney general expressed hope that Democrats would move away from what he characterized as politically motivated investigations, though he suggested he was not optimistic.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
