Trump DOJ shake-up sidelines top prosecutors in national security, adds new US attorneys in DC and New York

New leaders at the Justice Department moved quickly to reassign at least 20 career officials.

New leaders at the Justice Department, which has been a center of President Donald Trump’s ire because of its two criminal cases filed against him, have moved quickly to reassign at least 20 career officials, effectively sidelining them from senior-level positions where they’ve worked for years, according to multiple sources briefed on the changes. There has also been a shake-up at key US attorney offices in New York and Washington, DC. Those who have been sidelined at the DOJ headquarters in Washington include senior lawyers in the criminal division as well as the national security division, which in the past has been insulated from shifting political winds, and prosecutors who work on international affairs, which handles extraditions and immigration matters, the sources said. In some instances, seasoned career prosecutors were ordered to report in the coming weeks to a new task force. The move is viewed by Justice Department officials as a way to push some of the career lawyers, who are normally protected during transitions between administrations, to consider leaving the department. Federal civil service regulations generally protect career employees at the Justice Department and other agencies from being reassigned for at least 120 days after new leadership takes over. However, Trump administration officials appear to be interpreting the 120-day rule to not apply in this instance because the DOJ is currently led by an acting attorney general and deputy attorney general while Pam Bondi, the attorney general nominee, awaits confirmation. Therefore, they reason, new leadership hasn’t yet started, one of the sources said.