Trump Orders Justice Dept. To Fire All ‘Biden-Era’ U.S. Attorneys
President Donald Trump has escalated his efforts to remove officials he believes may oppose his policies, directing Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday to dismiss all remaining U.S. attorneys appointed during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
“Over the past four years, the Department of Justice has been politicized like never before. Therefore, I have instructed the termination of ALL remaining ‘Biden Era’ U.S. Attorneys,” Trump stated on Truth Social.
“We must ‘clean house’ IMMEDIATELY, and restore confidence. America’s Golden Age must have a fair Justice System – THAT BEGINS TODAY!” he continued.
Meanwhile, Bondi has been actively working to implement the president’s agenda. Earlier this week, she took steps to reassess a series of death row commutations that Biden had granted in his final days in office.
In a message to DOJ staff, Bondi argued that Biden’s commutations “undermine[d] our justice system and subvert[ed] the rule of law.”
“The commutations also robbed the victims’ families of the justice promised — and fought hard to achieve — by the Department of Justice,” she asserted. “The Department of Justice is directed to immediately commence the following actions to achieve justice for the victims’ families of the 37 commuted murderers.”
Bondi emphasized the need to “explore opportunities to provide a public forum for the victims’ families to express how the commutations affected them personally,” describing this as an “important step” toward reestablishing trust and ensuring accountability.
She also announced plans to encourage U.S. attorneys’ offices to apply state law where possible to pursue cases against individuals whose federal death sentences had been reduced. This course of action, she noted, would only proceed “where appropriate and legally permissible” and “after consultation with the families of the victims and other interested parties.”
“The Capital Case Section shall assist the United States Attorney’s Offices in implementing this directive,” Bondi’s letter outlined.
Furthermore, she ordered the Federal Bureau of Prisons to ensure that the conditions of confinement for the 37 inmates in question reflect the security risks posed by their crimes, criminal backgrounds, and other relevant factors.
Biden had commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life in prison without parole.
At the time, the White House explained that the decision aimed to prevent Trump’s incoming administration from “carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice.”
“The President’s criminal justice record has transformed individual lives and positively impacted communities, especially historically marginalized communities,” the White House had stated. “In the coming weeks, the President will take additional steps to provide meaningful second chances and continue to review additional pardons and commutations.”
However, Biden notably left three individuals on federal death row: Dylann Roof, responsible for the mass shooting at a Charleston, South Carolina church; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber; and Robert Bowers, who carried out the 2018 attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Bondi recently made headlines following a lawsuit filed by the DOJ against New York state, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Attorney General Letitia James, alleging violations of federal law related to protections for illegal immigrants.
“This is a new DOJ,” Bondi declared at a press conference. “New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops. It stops today.”
“If you don’t comply with federal law, we will hold you accountable,” she warned. “We did it to Illinois, strike one. Strike two is New York. And if you are a state not complying with federal law, you’re next. Get ready.”
The Justice Department also recently petitioned a federal judge to overturn sanctuary policies in Chicago and Illinois.