President Donald Trump said on Sunday that thousands of lawyers leaving his administration is a good thing, pushing back against coverage that framed the departures as a problem. His comments came after reports emerged about a large drop in the number of lawyers working across federal agencies between late 2024 and March 2026.
According to The New York Times, the federal government’s civilian lawyer workforce has fallen by 17 percent during that period, leaving approximately 37,000 civilian attorneys on the payroll as of March.
The Hill reports that Trump addressed the situation on Truth Social, saying the outlet covering the story made it sound like a bad thing, “when actually, it is very good.” He described those leaving as “Radical Left Deep State Lunatics who are destroying our Country, and Weaponizing Government.”
The lawyer exodus has affected key federal departments
He also clarified that many of them did not leave on their own, writing that they “were FIRED,” and said he fully supports the departures, wishing them well “as they move on to bigger, better, and brighter things in the future.”
The departures have been driven by a mix of retirements, resignations, and firings. Some lawyers left after facing pressure to carry out the president’s agenda, while others were removed for refusing to comply with administration demands. Prosecutors who had worked on cases related to January 6 rioters or the president himself were among those let go.
The drop in legal staff has hit some departments much harder than others. The Department of Education has lost 53 percent of its lawyers since December 2024, while the Department of Housing and Urban Development has seen a 40 percent reduction in legal staff over the same period.
The Justice Department has experienced a 21 percent decrease in its attorney count. The only department that added legal staff was the Department of Homeland Security, which reportedly needed more resources to handle a surge in immigration cases tied to the administration’s mass deportation efforts.
The staffing losses have created real operational difficulties. Former HUD lawyer Erik Heins, who was fired last year after raising concerns about the reassignment of fair housing lawyers, said that “without enough legal staff, there are a lot of things that just can not get done.”
The administration has been working to push through policies that involve significant legal questions, including expanding executive authority and deploying the National Guard into cities during protests.
The New York Times report highlights that some career lawyers have found the current atmosphere far more volatile than what they experienced during Trump’s first term. This tension is not limited to rank-and-file staff – even some Trump-appointed lawyers have resigned over administration decisions, citing disagreements with specific policy choices.
To address the shortages, the Department of Justice has started offering $25,000 signing bonuses and has lowered some of its previous hiring requirements for new attorneys. However, filling those positions has not been straightforward.
Some law school graduates are reportedly hesitant to join, concerned about how the experience might affect their future career prospects. Matthew Duray, a student at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, said that people his age are asking “if it is worth getting a job and if it will help career-wise to have one year of experience in the current administration.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson pushed back on concerns about the quality of incoming hires. She said the administration remains “totally dedicated to empowering and hiring hard-working Americans who are committed to public service and delivering on the president’s many promises to the American people,” adding that those being hired are “extremely qualified and talented.”
The White House has also shown little patience for outside criticism of its personnel decisions, having previously dismissed pushback from a former Trump ally over administration matters. There are also some efforts underway to bring back lawyers who were previously let go.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon told senators in April that the Department of Education is rehiring many of the lawyers it had earlier dismissed, in order to work through a backlog of civil rights complaints. The legal staffing situation across federal departments continues to shift as the administration moves forward with its policy agenda.
Published: Jun 2, 2026 06:15 am