Trump Administration’s ‘Purge’ of FBI Agents Sparks Backlash—’Retaliation’

Donald Trump has been criticized by Democrats over alleged plans to “purge” FBI agents who worked on the federal investigation into the January 6 attack.

Newsweek has contacted the White House, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the FBI for comment via email.

Why It Matters

The move has been accused of being a retaliatory action by Trump and another step towards “authoritarianism,” which Democrats feared the president would carry out upon returning to office. The firing of prosecutors and FBI agents also follows Trump’s decision to pardon around 1,500 people convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

What to Know

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered the firing of several prosecutors involved in the investigation into Trump’s alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. Around two dozen employees at the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., were fired on Bove’s order.

Bove, who was Trump’s attorney in the Republican’s criminal cases, also sought to have several senior FBI executives retire or be fired by Monday. Bove requested the names of all FBI agents assigned to investigate or prosecute January 6 cases—a list that could include thousands—in what is believed to be a step toward terminating them as well.

In a memo obtained by The Washington Post, Bove cited an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office, directing an end to the so-called “weaponization” of law enforcement.

“I do not believe the current leadership of the Justice Department can trust these FBI employees to assist in implementing the president’s agenda faithfully,” Bove wrote.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has accused Trump of carrying out a “reckless and dangerous assault” on law enforcement by “gutting” the FBI and DOJ.

Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, called the move a “repulsive affront to the rule of law.”

Trump denied being behind the effort to target FBI agents but told reporters at the White House on Friday that there are “some very bad people over there.”

Trump pleaded not guilty to four federal charges under Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe. The case was later dropped following Trump’s 2024 election victory, as the DOJ has a policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents.

What People Are Saying

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker posted on X, formerly Twitter: “This outrageous action is retaliation, pure and simple. These prosecutors and FBI agents worked to uphold the rule of law and hold accountable people who broke it by interfering with the peaceful transfer of power.”

Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin said in a statement: “In another repulsive affront to the rule of law and our nation’s law enforcement officers, the Trump administration today moved to fire scores of FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors simply for enforcing the law and impartially carrying out the largest criminal investigation in American history. If allowed to proceed, Trump’s purge of our federal law enforcement workforce will expose America to authoritarianism and dictatorship.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement: “Last week, Republicans celebrated the pardoning of violent criminals who brutally assaulted police officers, many of whom have extensive criminal records that include rape and domestic violence. Today, their reckless and dangerous assault on American law enforcement continues with the gutting of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice. By working to fire hundreds of dedicated career law enforcement agents and undermine the principled, patriotic public servants of the FBI, far-right extremists are once again proving that they are the party of lawlessness and disorder.”

California Senator Adam Schiff posted on X: “Tonight Donald Trump fired dozens of prosecutors at the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office and agents at the FBI. Another Friday Night Massacre, as the president removes those loyal to the Constitution and installs those loyal to him.”

The FBI Agents Association in a statement to the AP: “Dismissing potentially hundreds of agents would severely weaken the Bureau’s ability to protect the country from national security and criminal threats and will ultimately risk setting up the Bureau and its new leadership for failure.”

What Happens Next

Democrats have vowed to prevent the “purge” of federal law enforcement officials.

It remains to be seen if several FBI officials will resign, retire, or be fired on Monday as ordered.