Trump hasn’t forgot about his promise to drain the swamp. Now he’s making good on it.
And thousands of government bureaucrats are sweating bullets thanks to this Trump declaration.
The Department of Justice is pulling back job offers for the prestigious Attorney General’s Honors Program due to President Donald Trump’s federal hiring freeze, according to a recent report.
Established in 1953, the Honors Program is renowned for attracting top-tier law graduates from elite institutions like Harvard, Duke, Georgetown, Stanford, and the University of Virginia. The program has long served as a critical pipeline for recruiting exceptional legal talent into public service.
However, those who had been selected for the highly competitive program were informed their offers were being rescinded, multiple sources told The Washington Post.
An email from the Department’s Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management delivered the unwelcome news to affected candidates on Wednesday.
“Pursuant to the hiring freeze announced Jan. 20, 2025, your job offer has been revoked,” the email stated, according to a copy obtained by the Post.
The program typically hires over 100 lawyers annually, with participants assigned to key divisions such as antitrust, national security, and criminal law.
The two-year program not only gives new attorneys critical experience but also positions them for long-term careers within the Justice Department.
Legal experts and individuals familiar with the program emphasized its importance in ensuring the Department of Justice can replace outgoing talent with fresh recruits.
The hiring freeze, they warned, could have long-term repercussions for the Department’s ability to maintain a robust pipeline of skilled attorneys.
It remains unclear if or when the Honors Program will resume once the federal hiring freeze is lifted. The Justice Department has not yet commented on the situation, according to Fox News Digital.
President Trump implemented the hiring freeze as part of a wave of executive actions signed on Inauguration Day.
These orders also included withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and instructing federal agencies to tackle the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
“As part of this freeze, no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law,” a White House memo stated.
“Except as provided below, this freeze applies to all executive departments and agencies regardless of their sources of operational and programmatic funding.”
Exemptions to the freeze include military personnel and federal roles critical to immigration, national security, and public safety.
While Trump’s administration insists the hiring freeze is a necessary step to address federal spending, the move has sparked concerns about its immediate impact on vital programs like the Honors Program. For now, the fate of the next generation of Justice Department attorneys remains uncertain.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
