A report indicates that over 10,000 lawyers have departed from the federal government since just before President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. Federal employment data shows that approximately 20% of government lawyers employed at the end of December 2024 had left by March 2026. The report suggests that the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the federal workforce have had some success.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump criticized a New York Times analysis that described the departures as a 'striking exodus of legal talent,' asserting that those leaving were 'Radical Left Deep State Lunatics' who were detrimental to the country. He expressed a desire for personnel who align with his agenda of making America great again.
In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency, aimed at modernizing federal technology and reducing bureaucracy. The initiative was initially intended as a legal reform effort co-led by Vivek Ramaswamy, who later left to pursue a gubernatorial campaign in Ohio.
Under Elon Musk's leadership, the department shifted its focus towards modernizing technology and addressing waste rather than solely reducing the workforce. The report notes that the staffing reductions resulted from resignations of staff opposed to Trump's policies, along with typical turnover. Many of the departed lawyers are now employed by Democratic state attorneys general and nonprofit organizations.
The Department of Education has seen its legal staff reduced to less than half of its size at the end of 2024, while the Department of Homeland Security is the only agency that has increased its number of lawyers during this period. Trump stated that he wishes the departed lawyers well, despite the controversies surrounding Musk and the department during the early days of the Trump administration.
