Every morning at 9:45, top Justice Department officials meet to discuss the nation’s most pressing threats and update each other on federal law enforcement’s biggest investigations. The session, in a secure facility on the 6th floor of DOJ headquarters, dates back through decades of presidential administrations. It has continued since President Trump was inaugurated, but many of the veteran career officials have been removed from their jobs and no longer attend, the Washington Post reports. The top national security deputies from Justice are gone — transferred from the posts they held for years to undefined roles dealing with immigration enforcement and “sanctuary cities.” The heads of the FBI’s criminal division and international terrorism division were pushed out. A longtime deputy in Justice’s criminal division who focused on international affairs was transferred to sanctuary cities, but opted to retire.
Devin DeBacker, a national security prosecutor, had started attending when he became acting head of the national security division as the Biden administration ended. He was removed from that post Monday and returned leading the division’s foreign investment review section. The absences show how the Trump administration’s shake-ups at Justice and the FBI have eroded the continuity on national security that has long been a cornerstone of presidential transitions. “Part of the reason why you keep the civil service there is to provide the continuity and context that the rotating political leadership does not have,” said David Aaron, a former national security prosecutor. “When a situation comes up, they have the perspective of, ‘What have we done in the past? Did it work, did it not.’ Trump administration officials said they are confident that they have ample qualified national security staff at the Justice Department and FBI. They said the removal of top leaders will not hamper law enforcement.
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