DOJ Staffing Crisis Deepens as 5,500 Career Employees Exit and Recruiting Plummets

Overview

• Roughly 5,500 career employees have left the Justice Department since January through resignations, firings or buyouts, according to figures cited by the Washington Post and Justice Connection.
• The Civil Rights Division has been largely depleted, and many prosecutors tied to January 6 cases and past special counsel matters have departed, recent reports say.
• Applicant interest from top law schools has collapsed, with Georgetown’s former law dean describing a near-total drop in students seeking DOJ jobs.
• U.S. attorneys report unusual turnover and are courting former staff to return; D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro says her office lost 90 prosecutors but has onboarded more than 70 with 30 additional hires expected by January.
• Sources describe hiring practices that favor politically aligned applicants and interview questions about Trump policies, while DOJ denies blacklisting schools and says it is hiring the most qualified; separate reporting says prosecutors in South Florida have resigned over ethical concerns tied to politically sensitive cases.