
The Biden administration is under fire for allegedly using non-competitive hiring tactics to “Trump-proof” the Department of Justice (DOJ) ahead of a potential Trump presidency. Protect the Public’s Trust, an independent watchdog, claims that the administration is leveraging Schedule A hiring authority to place civil servants in key positions without going through the usual competitive process.
Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust, explained that this hiring authority allows the administration to bypass job postings and hire directly. “By doing so, these individuals gain civil service protections after two years, making them difficult to remove under a new administration,” Chamberlain said.
Documents obtained by the watchdog group show that the Biden administration has used Schedule A to appoint over 100 immigration judges and more than 150 attorneys in the Antitrust Division. These roles are critical to enforcing Biden’s progressive agenda on immigration and antitrust regulations.
Chamberlain warned that these hiring tactics could hamstring a future Trump presidency from making significant policy changes at the DOJ. The watchdog also raised concerns about the administration’s rush to finalize regulations on climate change, abortion, and healthcare before the 2024 election.
While the Biden administration has yet to respond to these allegations, critics argue that these moves are part of a larger strategy to cement progressive policies and make it more difficult for future administrations to reverse them.