President Donald Trump on Sunday highlighted a New York Times report on a “striking exodus of legal talent” from his administration, noting it’s a positive phenomenon.
“The New York Times wrote a story today entitled, ‘Trump Administration Sees Striking Exodus of Legal Talent,’ as though that’s a bad thing, when actually, it’s very good,” Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social.
“The people that are leaving are Radical Left Deep State Lunatics, who are destroying our Country, and Weaponizing Government. Many of them didn’t leave, but were fired!
“The Failing New York Times writes this, but makes it sound like it’s a terrible thing when actually, it’s just the opposite.
🚨 TRUMP CLAPS BACK HARD AT THE NEW YORK TIMES
President Trump just posted this absolute BANGER destroying the Failing New York Times for crying about a “striking exodus of legal talent” from his administration.
Trump’s response: Good riddance.
These aren’t just random lawyers… pic.twitter.com/BqjExReDvI
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) May 31, 2026
“We want people that will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, not people that are trying to destroy our Country, that were put in by Obama and Biden and, in many cases, they shouldn’t have been representing the U.S.A. in the first place.
“Let them go on to ‘bigger, better, and brighter’ things in the future – I fully support that, and wish them all well!”
The Times indicated more than 10,000 lawyers have departed since the beginning of 2025, calling it “a striking loss of legal talent that has left some agencies pushing to find attorneys to carry out his agenda.”
NYT: Trump Administration Sees Striking Exodus of Legal Talent https://t.co/iKoT6tA8nG
— Jesse Rodriguez (@JesseRodriguez) May 31, 2026
The Times reported:
Along with the usual retirements and turnover in the federal work force, the last year saw deep staffing cuts and the resignations of some staff members who objected to Mr. Trump’s policies. Their departures show how rapidly the president has eroded the image of the federal government as the gold standard for lawyers seeking public service roles.
Instead, many of those looking for such work are flocking to the offices of Democratic state attorneys general and nonprofits that are challenging administration policies in the courts, boosting Mr. Trump’s opponents with seasoned lawyers.
“There’s all this awareness that people in the federal government are dissatisfied, are angry, are frustrated, and want no part of it,” said Phil Weiser, Colorado’s attorney general, who has hired 22 lawyers from across the federal government in the last year.
“That’s translating directly to people saying, ‘I want to be part of organizations that actually operate with integrity, that people want to be a part of, that people feel good about doing the right thing.’”
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