The US Department of Justice has experienced a dramatic exodus of legal professionals under the Trump administration, with approximately 5,500 lawyers and non-lawyers departing since the president took office, according to data from nonpartisan watchdog Justice Connection.
Systematic Purge of Experienced Lawyers
Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior officials have overseen what experts describe as a systematic purge of attorneys deemed insufficiently loyal to the Trump agenda. This includes approximately 20 prosecutors who worked on cases related to the January 6 Capitol attack, where a mob attempted to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden's presidential victory.
On his first day in office this year, Trump granted pardons to over 1,500 Maga allies convicted or charged for their roles in the Capitol insurrection, which resulted in multiple fatalities.
Stacey Young, founder of Justice Connection, emphasised the scale of the problem: "The purge we've witnessed at the justice department has been catastrophic, and it isn't slowing down. Thousands have already left because of this administration's degradation of DoJ's vital work."
Critical Divisions Decimated
The civil rights division has been particularly hard hit, losing 70% of its 600 lawyers and staff who were employed when Trump assumed power. Former department officials report that core functions including minority voting rights protection and investigations into law enforcement misconduct have largely ground to a halt.
Jacqueline Kelly, former chief of the civil rights unit in the SDNY US attorney's office, warned: "You don't need a crystal ball to see how this decimation and redirection of resources could lead to a resurgence of unlawful discrimination and constitutional violations for years to come."
The voting section has seen its legal team reduced from approximately 30 attorneys to fewer than half that number, while simultaneously shifting its mission to align with Trump's radical election agenda.
National Security at Risk
The eastern district of Virginia, traditionally a leader in investigating white-collar and national security crimes, has been severely impacted. The office was thrown into turmoil after Trump publicly pressured Bondi via Truth Social to bring criminal charges against former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James.
When US attorney Erik Siebert resisted charging Comey due to perceived weaknesses in the case, he was forced to resign. Trump replaced him with White House lawyer Lindsey Halligan, a novice prosecutor who subsequently filed a two-count indictment against Comey that legal experts consider likely to be dismissed.
Michael Ben'Ary, a 20-year national security veteran who was among those ousted, left a note warning colleagues: "The leadership is more concerned with punishing the president's perceived enemies than they are with protecting our national security."
Barbara McQuade, former US attorney for eastern Michigan, expressed grave concerns: "I worry that as we lose experienced investigators and prosecutors who can disrupt acts of violent extremism before they occur, the risk of a terrorist attack becomes a ticking time bomb."
Public Corruption Prosecutions Eviscarated
The public integrity section, which investigates corruption among public officials, has been reduced from approximately 30 lawyers at the start of 2025 to just two attorneys. This decline accelerated after Trump loyalists dropped major criminal charges against New York mayor Eric Adams and Trump granted clemency to former congressman George Santos, who had served only three months of a seven-year sentence for wire fraud.
Mike Romano, who resigned after working on January 6 prosecutions, stated: "Both of these cases show why America needs public corruption prosecutors. Without people working hard to bring corruption to light, people in power can get away with terrible crimes."
Philip Lacovara, who served as counsel to the Watergate special prosecutor, concluded: "Thanks to Trump's perversion of the historic mission of the justice department, with enthusiastic cooperation from his pliant attorney general, Pam Bondi, every day offers a bounty of 'get out of jail free' cards for criminals at home and abroad."
