Major structural changes are underway at the U.S. Department of Justice as President Donald Trump’s administration moves swiftly to overhaul the federal bureaucracy and fulfill long-standing promises to “drain the swamp.”
In recent days, the administration has carried out a broad wave of dismissals targeting career officials, federal prosecutors, and immigration judges, with more than 200 terminations reported across DOJ and related agencies.
One of the most high-profile firings came this week when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi removed Maurene Comey—daughter of former FBI Director James Comey—from her role as a federal prosecutor. Her dismissal coincides with new reports that the FBI has launched investigations into James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan for their roles in the now-discredited Trump-Russia collusion probe.
The Justice Department also terminated immigration court Judge Jennifer Peyton, who had previously led the Chicago immigration court system. Peyton’s removal is part of a broader effort to reverse Biden-era immigration appointments and reassert stricter immigration enforcement policies.
According to The Hill, the personnel purge extends across multiple DOJ branches, including the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., where prosecutors involved in January 6-related cases have been among those dismissed. The nonprofit Justice Connection estimates over 200 dismissals have taken place in total.
Breitbart News previously reported in January that more than a dozen DOJ prosecutors involved in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal cases against Trump were also removed. DOJ leadership reportedly cited concerns about trust and impartiality as grounds for the terminations.
In February, the DOJ dismissed more than 20 immigration lawyers who had been appointed during the Biden administration to serve as pro-migration judges. The firings marked a reversal of the personnel reshuffling that occurred in 2021, when the Biden administration had removed several Trump-appointed immigration judges.
Currently, the approximately 700 immigration judges nationwide fall under the jurisdiction of Attorney General Bondi’s DOJ. The moves reflect a broader strategy to realign immigration policy, judicial priorities, and federal law enforcement focus areas in line with the administration’s agenda.
The reorganization has also extended beyond DOJ. According to Breitbart, the U.S. State Department recently laid off more than 1,300 employees as part of a cost-cutting and restructuring plan aimed at eliminating redundant or politicized positions.
