Attorneys Running Away Fast From Solicitor General’s Office

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At least eight top lawyers in the Justice Department’s solicitor general’s office are fleeing the elite team, which is responsible for arguing on behalf of the Trump administration before the Supreme Court. Via Talking Points Memo:

The turnover is high for the office in general, according to the Washington Post and the experts who spoke to the publication — and is especially high when you consider that the Trump administration is involved in lots of litigation with multiple cases challenging Trump’s lawless executive actions already before or on track to reach the high court. The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to help it on its warpath to dismantle large swaths of the federal government and expand its deportation efforts, issues that look likely to come before the Court again and again. The administration has also, by all appearances, defied judicial orders it doesn’t like along its way.

The Post spoke to “several people close to the workforce who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss upcoming personnel changes.” They suggested that the people are leaving the office en masse for “various reasons” but the only one actually cited in the article is one TPM readers are now familiar with: the erosion of the Justice Department’s independence from the White House. Per the Post:

Many are uncomfortable or turned off by directives from Justice Department leaders, including Attorney General Pam Bondi’s demand for “zealous advocacy” of President Donald Trump’s agenda, these people said.

We’ve seen the disintegration of this typical firewall between the DOJ and the White House’s political agenda play out in countless ways since Trump first came back to power, concerns that were only bolstered when, while issuing her Day 1 priority directives for the department, Attorney General Pam Bondi referred to Justice Department lawyers as “his lawyers,” referencing the President.

Look for a press conference announcing a celebrity hire, maybe Alan Dershowitz. Because it sure sounds like the wheels are coming off the Bondi bus!

All hail the king! All hail the lowering of standards!