In 2023, Donald Trump’s lawyers arrived at Justice Department headquarters, scooped up visitors badges and asked prosecutors about Trump’s imminent indictment over the hoarding of documents at Mar-a-Lago. He never faced a trial and is now the president. Two members of his defense team run the agency’s day-to-day operations. Trump will deliver a major law-and-order speech in the DOJ great hall, as much an expression of conquest and vindication as a first visit to a key cabinet department. Trump is using the speech to show he has taken political possession of DOJ, reports the New York Times, He promises a "complete gamut” of policy proposals, including on immigration.
The speech comes as officials have made plans to use wartime legal authorities to accelerate the deportation of undocumented immigrants, a step that could be announced as soon as Friday. The president could also unveil new steps to combat “weaponization” of the department, even as his officials use its powers to punish his enemies and reward his allies. Trump is likely to trumpet his efforts ramping up immigration arrests, militarizing the border, turning away migrants and reshaping the system that allows people to seek sanctuary in the U.S.. Using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act could give Trump sweeping new authority to remove undocumented immigrants while providing them little to no due process. The move is likely to be contested in court — presenting a major challenge for Justice Department appellate lawyers already scrambling to defend other Trump edicts. Presidential visits to DOJ headquarters are uncommon but not unheard-of. The first came in early 1933, with President Herbert Hoover presiding over the dedication of the site of the building, roughly halfway between the Capitol and White House.