The U.S. Department of Justice has undergone significant personnel changes recently as the Trump administration moves to reshape the agency. According to The Hill, the administration is actively “culling the ranks of career officials” across various DOJ divisions.
This shift includes the recent firing of Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, from her role as a federal prosecutor, reported by Breitbart News. Maurene Comey’s dismissal comes amid ongoing FBI investigations into former CIA Director John Brennan and James Comey concerning the Russia-Trump collusion probe.
In addition to Comey’s firing, immigration court Judge Jennifer Peyton, who oversaw the Chicago immigration court system, was also dismissed, per The Hill. Justice Connection, a DOJ alumni network, estimates that over 200 employees have been terminated across the DOJ, including FBI staff and prosecutors involved in Jan. 6 cases at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C.
President Trump has repeatedly promised to “drain the swamp,” and since January, several prosecutors tied to cases against him have been dismissed. Breitbart noted that prosecutors working on special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal cases against Trump were particularly targeted due to alleged distrust from the DOJ.
Earlier this year, over 20 immigration attorneys appointed under the Biden administration were removed. These attorneys served as pro-migration judges within the immigration courts, which are under the authority of Trump’s DOJ and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Similar removals occurred under Biden and Obama administrations, reflecting a recurring practice of replacing immigration judges across administrations.