US President Donald Trump has ordered the dismissal of all remaining US attorneys appointed by his predecessor Joe Biden, calling it a necessary step to restore confidence in the country’s justice system.
“Over the past four years, the Department of Justice has been politicized like never before,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday.
“Therefore, I have instructed the termination of ALL remaining ‘Biden Era’ U.S. Attorneys,” he added. “We must ‘clean house’ IMMEDIATELY, and restore confidence,” Trump added. “America’s Golden Age must have a fair Justice System – THAT BEGINS TODAY!”
It is common for an incoming president to replace US attorneys, the top federal prosecutors in each judicial district, though the process typically happens gradually rather than through an immediate mass firing.
There are 93 US attorneys across 94 federal judicial districts, and several Biden-era appointees had already stepped down following Trump’s election victory in anticipation of being replaced.
Since taking office last month, Trump has moved quickly to overhaul the Justice Department, an institution he has repeatedly accused of unfairly targeting him. Several high-ranking officials have been dismissed, demoted, or reassigned.
Among those removed were members of special counsel Jack Smith’s office, which previously brought two now-abandoned criminal cases against Trump.
The shake-up also follows the resignation last week of the acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York, a Trump appointee, after he was asked by the Justice Department to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
Trump’s sweeping firings signal his intent to reshape federal law enforcement as he heads into his second term, with critics warning of increasing politicisation within the Justice Department.
