DOJ in Crisis as Applicants Flunk the ‘Favorite Trump Policy’ Test

A new loyalty test for prospective hires has left the Justice Department with thousands of vacancies and a mounting case backlog.

Trump’s DOJ has experienced a sharp decline in applicants—especially qualified ones—in large part because of the partisan hiring process, The Washington Post reported on Monday.

As part of the vetting process, Justice Department applicants have been required to gush over their favorite Trump executive order or policy and detail how they would move it forward, the Post reported.

President Donald Trump speaks with Attorney General Pam Bondi in the State Dining Room of the White House on October 23, 2025, in Washington, DC. — Trump has publicly insisted Attorney General Pam Bondi prosecute his political enemies. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Career positions like those at the DOJ are designed to be nonpolitical—but experts described this question as a “workaround.”

“Even though that question doesn’t ask if you are Republican, the spirit of that question asks for the job applicant to give their loyalty to the president,” Raymond Limon, an expert in federal labor laws, told the Post.

Trump appointees have also found other ways to align the DOJ with MAGA. In February, Ed Martin—who was then the acting top prosecutor in D.C.—wrote a letter to William Treanor, the former dean of Georgetown University Law Center, declaring his office wouldn’t hire any talent from a law school that had what Trump officials viewed as “DEI policies,” the Post reported.

But the politicizing of the Justice Department, a once-prestigious employer, hasn’t exactly boosted applicants. The vast majority of the 600 employees in the Civil Rights Division, for example, have left, with only a dozen or so of those career positions replaced, the Post reported.

Still, that hasn’t stopped Trump officials from ousting at least 200 people in the DOJ who worked on cases seen as “anti-Trump” under the Biden administration and are now installing their allies in their place, according to data from Justice Connection. Among those especially targeted are lawyers involved in cases against Jan. 6 rioters and immigration judges.

Now, prospective hires at the DOJ are mostly coming from Republican congressional offices and advocacy groups, sources told the Post. Other candidates are far from qualified for the roles they’re seeking, they added.

In August, Jeanine Pirro, now the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, even appeared on her former employer Fox News as her office was down 90 prosecutors, and pleaded with viewers to email her if they wanted a job.

“What we are seeing is a total drop in who is applying,” Treanor told the Post. “It’s gone from a good amount of our graduating class to virtually no one applying for jobs at the Justice Department.”

Additionally, roughly two thirds of DOJ lawyers tasked with fielding the constant legal challenges to Trump’s policies have quit amid mounting frustration. Around 69 of the 110 lawyers who work in the DOJ’s Federal Programs Branch—which responds to lawsuits against the administration—have left their posts since the 2024 election, Reuters reported in July.

Jeanine Pirro complained that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington D.C. is facing a major staffing shortage. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

While high turnover at the DOJ unit is common between administrations, sources told Reuters this level of staff turnover in the middle of a presidential administration is unprecedented. Among those who have left are seasoned lawyers who worked across administrations, including Trump’s first one.

The Daily Beast has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring taxpayer dollars are used efficiently by hiring the best and most qualified individuals to serve the American people—with emphasis on hiring those fulfilling critical law enforcement and public safety missions,” a Justice Department spokesperson told the Post.

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