Former DOJ Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle (YouTube Screengrab)
A former Department of Justice chief of staff's unorthodox call for Trump loyalist lawyers via social media post over the weekend set off alarms with experts and drew heavy criticism, with one former prosecutor calling the notion "dangerous" in a statement to ABC News.
Chad Mizelle previously served as DOJ chief of staff under Attorney General Pam Bondi from the start of Donald Trump's second term until October, departing the role for unspecified reasons. Since leaving, however, he has remained a vocal proponent of the administration and its political agenda, most recently taking to X over the weekend to solicit direct messages from anyone who supports Trump and was interested in getting a job as an Assistant U.S Attorney.
"We need good prosecutors. And DOJ is hiring across the country," Mizelle wrote. "Now is your chance to join the mission and do good for our country."
The message drew swift condemnation, both for the desperation inherent in soliciting job applicants via social media, but also for Mizelle's insistence on the applicants being pro-Trump, an idea that flies in the face of the idea of the DOJ as an independent agency.
Speaking with ABC News on Wednesday, former prosecutor Chad Carbone laid into Mizelle's post and warned that such an idea was "dangerous." He also noted that many other former prosecutors "are concerned about [the post's] implications."
"We shouldn't have a favorite politician in the Justice Department; we should have a favorite document, and that's the Constitution," Carbone said, also adding, "It's dangerous. The day that Department of Justice lawyers are hired based on loyalty to a person... is the day the rest of us should get very nervous."
Carbone also stated that Mizelle's message — which was later shared controversial senior Trump aide, Stephen Miller — violated federal laws prohibiting the government from discriminating based on "political affiliation" when hiring for civil-service jobs. The notion of replacing non-partisan workers throughout the federal government with Trump loyalists was one of the central conceits of Project 2025.
"The law is very clear," Carbone said.
In a post to BlueSky over the weekend, reacting to Mizelle, former Obama-era U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance suggested that the hiring plea indicated the weakened state that the DOJ has been reduced to under Trump.
"DM me? We used to get hundreds of highly qualified applicants for a single job posting," Vance wrote. "Good prosecutors are increasingly hesitant to work for this DOJ."