Critics fear that the Justice Department’s 4,000 layoffs as part of the Trump administration’s contentious government downsizing program will affect community safety in the United States.
According to a department budget summary, the so-called “fork in the road” deferred resignation program, which offered incentives to certain employees to leave federal government service, decreased the agency’s workforce for an estimated $470 million in savings.
According to the summary, additional cuts are planned, including the elimination of 1,500 FBI positions. These cuts will affect over 700 open FBI agent positions.
Within the Justice Department, the new leadership has pushed for the cuts. The cuts were described as a part of a process of right-sizing and streamlining in the agency’s budget summary.
“Capitalizing on increased efficiency, FBI will prioritize core missions of securing the border, eliminating transnational criminal organizations, reinforcing national security, and protecting the American people from violent crime,” the department stated.
With about 105,000 employees, the cuts only make up a small portion of the agency. However, they are depleting the Justice Department of seasoned agents and leaders, according to former officials and law enforcement analysts.
Former Justice agency lawyer Stacey Young, who quit earlier this year, stated, “The department has suffered an irreparable loss through the thousands who’ve left through the deferred resignation program.”
“Many of those who resigned wanted to stay, but they were told to take the offer or face termination,” she stated.
She continued that “expertise, institutional knowledge and stability are keys — not impediments — to an efficient and effective government.”
Young is the executive director of the advocacy organization Justice Connections, which is composed of former Justice Department staff members.
Former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms assistant director Thomas Chittum referred to the cuts as “shortsighted.” The reductions in staff, he predicted, “would immediately diminish investigative capacity” and “undermine long-term effectiveness” because fewer senior agents would be able to work alongside new agents. He claimed that this has been “critical to transferring hard-earned institutional knowledge.”
“No one becomes a seasoned investigator overnight,” Chittum stated. “We should not mortgage the future of federal law enforcement for short-term cost savings.”
The FBI’s budget requests and recommendations will be reviewed by Congress, which still needs to approve funding for the Justice Department.
Plans to close the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service and eliminate all 56 of its employees were also disclosed in the budget summary. Its goal is to be “America’s peacemaker,” charged with “preventing and resolving racial and ethnic tensions, conflicts, and civil disorders, and in restoring racial stability and harmony.” It was established in the middle of the 20th century during the civil rights era.
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The Justice Department’s plans to close this office were criticized by former official Bert Brandenburg. “Sacking expert conciliators on the eve of a summer of growing tension is like turning off fire hydrants as flames approach,” Brandenburg said. “This is a recipe for more chaos and more violence.”
Initiatives to move federal agents and employees from Washington, D.C., to FBI field offices across the United States have been announced by FBI director Kash Patel. According to former agency officials, the job changes may hasten the bureau’s agent retirement and resignation rates.
The move from the District of Columbia would “enhance investigative capacity and provide better support to Federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners,” Patel told a House subcommittee in May.
According to his testimony, it would “increase the investigative capacity in 49 of our 55 field offices.”
Employees who chose to resign under the administration’s “fork in the road” program expressed disapproval of the agency’s swift and contentious changes. “[I]t has been an honor to serve this department under multiple administrations led by both Republicans and Democrats, each of which has previously treated career staff with respect and dignity,” wrote Joshua Stueve, the former spokesman for the Justice Department who resigned in February. Seeing that fundamental decency disappear is heartbreaking.
The White House Office of Management and Budget outlined its plans to cut certain federal employees, including those in the Justice Department, in a letter to federal employees dated January 28.
“At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions,” according to the letter. “If you choose not to continue in your current role in the federal workforce, we thank you for your service to your country and you will be provided with a dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program.”
According to Young, reducing FBI employees “jeopardizes Americans’ safety in a heightened threat environment.”
