Trump has been fairly quiet since his election win. Now he’s speaking up.
And Donald Trump broke his silence with this terrifying message for deep state actors.
Trump’s DOJ Leadership Selections Reflect Focus on Disruption
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominations for key leadership roles within the Department of Justice (DOJ) signal his intent to overhaul the department and prioritize loyalty over bureaucracy. In particular, his nomination of Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general highlights Trump’s determination to steer the DOJ away from career bureaucrats and those who may resist his policy agenda.
Trump’s choices come after the turbulence of his first term, where he faced opposition from entrenched bureaucrats, most notably from former Attorney General William Barr. With his second term on the horizon, Trump aims to avoid similar conflicts and ensure that his DOJ is aligned with his vision.
“Gaetz is clearly an outsider and disruptor, and that’s the point,” former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Cherkasky explained that Gaetz fits Trump’s campaign promise to end the DOJ’s alleged Left-wing focus on “lawfare, censorship, and election interference.” As a close ally of Trump, Gaetz is expected to be a loyalist who will avoid the resistance faced by Barr, a former Trump appointee who often found himself at odds with the president’s agenda.
Commenting on the broader significance of the Gaetz nomination, Will Chamberlain, senior counsel at the Article III Project, noted that Trump’s pick is not just about the individual but about sending a clear message. “It’s not 2016 anymore, and there will be no internal coup against the sitting President,” Chamberlain wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
However, Trump’s selection of Gaetz was met with criticism from some legal experts who questioned his qualifications for the post. In a National Review article, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy argued that Gaetz’s lack of experience in legal administration could hinder his ability to navigate the complexities of the DOJ. McCarthy also pointed out Gaetz’s involvement in efforts to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election, suggesting this history could make his confirmation difficult. “Trump needs a strong, experienced hand who is widely respected for his or her legal acumen and bureaucratic know-how,” McCarthy said.
Despite the criticism, some legal analysts believe that Trump’s confidence in securing his desired picks is growing. Cherkasky pointed to Trump’s relative silence regarding South Dakota Senator John Thune’s election as Senate Majority Leader, which Cherkasky interpreted as a sign that the president-elect feels secure in his ability to move forward with his agenda, including his DOJ nominations.
Trump Values Loyalty And Respect Over D.C. ‘Experience’
Beyond the attorney general role, Trump’s selections for other senior DOJ positions also suggest that loyalty to the president’s agenda is a key factor in his decision-making process. Trump nominated Todd Blanch to be deputy attorney general, Emil Bove as principal associate deputy attorney general, and Dean John Sauer, who represented Trump before the Supreme Court, as solicitor general.
These appointments were met with greater enthusiasm among conservative legal circles. Ed Whelan, a constitutional scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, praised Sauer’s qualifications, calling him “a brilliant lawyer with rich experience” who would bring invaluable expertise to the solicitor general’s office. Sauer has also been involved in significant legal challenges, including a major case against the Biden administration’s censorship policies.
Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who served in Trump’s first administration, expressed support for Blanch and Bove, while notably omitting any comment on Gaetz. “Critics of unfit appointees should applaud when the President picks qualified people with integrity,” Rosenstein wrote on X. He emphasized that Blanch and Bove would ensure DOJ prosecutions remain impartial and free from partisan influence.
Tensions Within the DOJ: Career Prosecutors Push Back
As Trump moves forward with his DOJ appointments, concerns are rising among career DOJ employees, many of whom fear that they will be sidelined or replaced by partisan loyalists. This anxiety was echoed by several DOJ insiders who spoke to Politico ahead of Gaetz’s nomination announcement. One anonymous source warned that many career prosecutors are “losing their minds” over the prospect of being ousted in favor of appointees who align more closely with Trump’s agenda.
Stacey Young, co-founder of the DOJ Gender Equality Network, expressed fears that the department would be reshaped in a way that undermines its integrity. “We’re terrified that we’ll be replaced with partisan loyalists,” Young told Politico. A second DOJ attorney, also speaking anonymously, warned that the department could see a mass exodus of experienced lawyers unwilling to work under Trump’s appointments.
Trump’s supporters, however, argue that the president is fully within his rights to reshape the department to reflect the will of the voters who elected him. Attorney Mark Paoletta, who is involved in Trump’s transition team, made clear that career employees have no business undermining the administration’s agenda. “Any civil servant who claims their actions to resist these policy initiatives will be doing so to uphold the rule of law is being dishonest,” Paoletta wrote on X. “They are undermining the rule of law and subverting democracy and should be fired.”
Former DOJ officials also weighed in on the broader issue of DOJ employees potentially obstructing Trump’s policy goals. John Malcolm, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, suggested that career prosecutors unhappy with the direction of the department should consider leaving for the private sector. “They were not elected by the American people or appointed by the President to serve in his administration,” Malcolm said. “Anyone who attempts to sabotage the President’s agenda from within should be severely reprimanded and reassigned or fired for insubordination.”
Jesse Panuccio, who previously served as the third-ranking official in Trump’s DOJ, added that career employees who disagree with leadership directives often “find quiet ways to undermine the work.” He stressed that those who do not want to execute the president’s policies should be reassigned to less critical roles, or else leave the department entirely. “If they want to be activists, there are lots of think tanks and 501(c)(3)s and law firms they can go work at,” Panuccio said. “They do not need to be on the payroll of the taxpayers who just elected this president.”
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