Massive wave of resignations is shaking up the federal government
Trump is out for blood. And many are jumping ship before he can get to them.
Now a massive wave of resignations is shaking up the federal government.
Trump DOJ Stands Firm as Career Bureaucrats Resign Over Leadership’s Vision
The Trump Justice Department is weeding out deep-state bureaucrats who refuse to align with the administration’s priorities, as a wave of career prosecutors resign in protest. The resignations highlight a long-standing battle over the DOJ’s role — whether it serves as an independent, rogue entity or follows the directives of a democratically elected president.
Deputy AG to DOJ Staff: “Follow the President’s Agenda or Resign”
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove made it clear that the DOJ is no longer a playground for unelected bureaucrats with personal political agendas.
“I went to New York today to show the men and women of the Justice Department as well as the American people that I am personally committed to our shared fight: ending weaponized government, stopping the invasion of criminal illegal aliens, and eliminating drug cartels and transnational gangs from our homeland,” Bove stated.
Sending a direct message to DOJ staff, Bove warned that those unwilling to uphold the administration’s vision should step aside.
“For those at the Department who are with me in those battles… we’re going to do great things to make America safe again. For those who do not support our critical mission, I understand there are templates for resignation letters available on the websites of the New York Times and CNN,” he quipped.
Prosecutors Resign After DOJ Drops Trump-Targeted Corruption Case
Seven prosecutors, including Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon, resigned in response to Bove’s directive to dismiss the corruption indictment against Democrat New York City Mayor Eric Adams. In her resignation letter, Sassoon claimed the move violated her “duty to prosecute federal crimes without fear or favor.”
Bove fired back, reminding her that DOJ policy is determined by the president and his Senate-confirmed Attorney General — not rogue prosecutors.
“You lost sight of the oath that you took when you started at the Department of Justice by suggesting that you retain discretion to interpret the Constitution in a manner inconsistent with the policies of a democratically elected President,” Bove wrote.
Experts: The DOJ Answers to the President, Not to Unelected Bureaucrats
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky blasted these resignations as a sign that career officials have completely misunderstood their role.
“They seem to propose an idea that unelected, non-Senate confirmed prosecutors should be permitted to operate outside the authority of the president,” Cherkasky told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The depths of the unconstitutionality of such a position is concerning.”
He warned that allowing DOJ staff to act as a “fourth branch of government” would be disastrous.
Similarly, Article III Project Senior Counsel Will Chamberlain slammed the idea that SDNY prosecutors could operate independently, calling it a case of bureaucrats trying to substitute their own policy judgments for DOJ leadership.
Left-Wing Resistance Grows as More Officials Resign
The Adams case isn’t the only point of contention. Other career officials, including Denise Cheung, the head of the criminal division in Washington, D.C., and senior ethics official Bradley Weinsheimer, also resigned rather than complied with DOJ directives.
Nearly 900 former federal prosecutors — many with open anti-Trump biases — signed a letter urging current DOJ employees to resist “political” influence. Among them? Disgraced special counsel Jack Smith, who rushed to indict Trump in an election interference case that was later dismissed under DOJ policy barring prosecution of sitting presidents.
The letter, released by Justice Connection — a Left-wing group founded by former DOJ attorney Stacey Young — warned that DOJ staff were being forced to make charging decisions based on “political” considerations. Yet, many of the signers were the same figures who weaponized the DOJ against Trump in past years, including Pamela Karlan, who testified during Trump’s impeachment, and MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissman.
Trump’s DOJ Cleans House: A Return to Law & Order
Bove and the Trump DOJ are making one thing clear: the Justice Department is not an independent fiefdom for unelected prosecutors to push political agendas. The president was elected to restore law and order — and those unwilling to follow that mission are finding the exit.
With deep-state resistance crumbling, the DOJ is finally being brought back under the control of the American people — not the bureaucrats who thought they could override democracy.
