r/moderatepolitics • u/Interesting_Total_98 • 1d ago

News Article Trump Administration Sees Striking Exodus of Legal Talent

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/31/us/politics/trump-administration-exodus-of-lawyers.html
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222

u/alittledanger 1d ago

Almost like people whose lives revolve around respect for the law don’t want to work for someone who constantly breaks the law.

144

u/Elegant_Athlete_7882 1d ago

There’s a very funny quote from Bondi’s former chief of staff about why Trumps had such a hard time using the department against his enemies:

“Part of the reason the weaponization work has been difficult is that you need people who are MAGA and who are really competent,” Mizelle said. “Many career prosecutors are not interested in this kind of work. It’s a very small group of people.”

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u/Plastastic Social Democrat 1d ago

that you need people who are MAGA and who are really competent

A more rare class by the day.

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u/Elegant_Athlete_7882 1d ago

A more rare class by the day.

I truly don’t believe it exists, and I say that as a former Trump voter. He’s the founder of the movement, and his definition of it is “MAGA is Trump:” https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-us-not-war-venezuela-rcna252427

So the only way to be MAGA is to agree with Trump on any given issue, and since someone can’t be competent and do that, I don’t think it’s possible to be both.

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u/sadandshy 1d ago

I would think how wildly and completely he changes his mind, especially about his allies and underlings, also has a bit of a narrowing of prospective employees.

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u/Krinder 1d ago

As much as I want to admire them for respecting the law it’s also a requirement. People are being asked to risk bar complaints and their licenses to fulfill this White House’s agenda during its retribution tour. That’s definitely not worth the $120k the average DOJ attorney gets a year.

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u/FeatherlyFly 1d ago

For $120k a year, you can be pretty sure that many of the lawyers in question are the ones who already turned down bigger paychecks with more questionable morals. 

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u/Bacontester33 1d ago

Honestly doesn't even need to go that far. This administration wants loyalists who will break the law for Trump.