Trump pledges FBI reform, but big purge of agents could backfire

Since his first term in office, President Donald Trump has viewed federal law enforcement as being weaponized against him. Now, his second administration may be looking to respond in kind.

The past week has seen confusion and anxiety spread through two agencies that have drawn President Trump’s ire. Senior officials at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were forced out or reassigned in recent days, according to news reports. That high-level reshuffling could soon develop into a broader purge of FBI personnel, the reports say, targeting agents involved in the investigation of Trump supporters who assaulted the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The FBI has undergone significant reorganization before, but experts say the volume of firings the Trump administration is now considering would be unprecedented for the agency…

• ← Do Biden’s preemptive pardons offer a safety valve or set bad precedent?
• But is it legal? Musk’s DOGE is stripping agencies before judges can rule. →