The Department of Justice has announced that it will be rescinding job offers to candidates selected for the Attorney General’s Honors Program, due to President Donald Trump’s federal hiring freeze.
The Attorney General’s Honors Program, which was established in 1953, is designed to recruit top legal talent from top law schools such as Harvard, Duke, Georgetown, Stanford, and the University of Virginia. The program typically hires more than 100 lawyers annually and places them on a career path to stay with the Department of Justice once the program concludes.
According to reports, the Department’s Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management sent out an email on Wednesday to affected candidates, informing them that their job offers were being revoked. The email stated that the revocation was a result of the hiring freeze, which was announced on January 20.
It is unclear at this time whether the program will resume once the federal hiring freeze is lifted. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The hiring freeze also applies to all executive departments and agencies, excluding military personnel and other federal jobs related to immigration, national security, or public safety. The freeze was part of a series of executive orders signed by President Trump on Inauguration Day, including those withdrawing the US from the Paris climate agreement and directing departments to address the cost-of-living crisis.
