In 2025, the DOJ struggled with everything from purges to incompetence to weaponization. In 2026, its collapse seems to be accelerating
The Justice Department’s unraveling is accelerating:
- Civil Rights Division resignations
- another prosecutor purged
- bipartisan condemnation of Powell/Fed probe
- multiple court defeats in recent days
- White House takeover
- Trump slams Bondi
An institution in crisis.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-01-13T16:56:50.673Z
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/an-unraveling-justice-department-appears-to-be-coming-apart-at-the-seams
But as 2026 gets underway, conditions at the
Justice Department have gone from bad to worse. Indeed, almost two weeks into the new year, the DOJ appears to be an agency in crisis, rapidly unraveling before our eyes.
Consider some of the more notable developments from just the past week:
At least four leading officials from the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division resigned in protest after Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon decided not to investigate the fatal shooting of Renee Good.
The Justice Department fired Robert McBride, a veteran prosecutor, after he declined to lead the controversial prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey.
The Justice Department opened an unprecedented criminal investigation into Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, sparking widespread and bipartisan criticisms.
Vice President JD Vance announced that the administration would soon have a new assistant attorney general but that their work would be “run out of the White House” instead of Main Justice, reinforcing concerns that the West Wing has effectively seized control of the DOJ, which has largely functioned as an independent entity since Watergate.
The New York Times reported on the gutted state of the department, which is plagued by systemic vacancies and prosecutors who fear they’ll be fired for working on cases the political right might not like. Complicating matters, the article added, “personnel typically deployed to national security and fraud cases are being diverted to focus on other priorities, including the president’s demands for investigations into his perceived enemies.”
The Justice Department has suffered a series of defeats in court over the past few days, including embarrassing setbacks in cases related to renewable energy, Energy Department grants to blue states, federal funding for child care and social services in blue states and, as of late Friday, federal election funds.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump has “repeatedly” complained to aides in recent weeks about Bondi, “describing her as weak and an ineffective enforcer of his agenda.”
Each of these stories is important in its own right, but taken together, a picture emerges of a Justice Department that appears to be coming apart at the seams.
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