By now, we all know about the avalanche of policy changes the Trump administration has implemented at a frantic pace since Inauguration Day. First, there were the inflammatory Day One executive orders.1E.g. Defending Women from Gender Ideology and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, Exec. Order No. 14,168, 90 Fed. Reg. 8615 (Jan. 30, 2025); Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Sentencing, Exec. Order No. 14,151, 90 Fed. Reg. 8339 (Jan. 29, 2025). Then, there were the tariffs.2Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes Tariffs on Imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, The White House (Feb. 1, 2025), https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-imposes-tariffs-on-imports-from-canada-mexico-and-china/. Then, the ongoing Eric Adams saga.3Benjamin Weiser et al., A Justice Dept. in Turmoil Moves to Dismiss Eric Adams’s Corruption Case, N.Y. Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/nyregion/eric-adams-drop-charges-sdny.html (last updated Feb. 16, 2025). And don’t forget the Department of Governmental Efficiency, which—don’t worry—is definitely not run by Elon Musk.4See Lindsay Whitehurst, White House Says Elon Musk is Not in Charge at DOGE, But is Advising the President, AP News, https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-doge-white-house-layoffs-0fcdbb692717c63203ef971cb9807b35 (last updated Feb. 18, 2025, 3:51 PM EST).
These are only a few examples of the controversies that have generated headlines the past several weeks. Regardless of your personal opinion, what is unmistakably clear is that the new administration has wasted no time in pursuing its agenda through a drastic reshaping (or destruction) of government institutions.
Amidst this whirlwind of changes is one that has garnered fewer headlines, but should still raise alarm bells about the future of the federal workforce. This is the 90-day federal hiring freeze implemented on January 20, 2025.5Hiring Freeze, The White House (Jan. 20, 2025), https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/hiring-freeze/.
At first glance, this order may not appear to trigger an existential crisis on par with the administration’s other recent directives. However, the decision to revoke offers that had already been made to promising young legal talent is both misguided and near-sighted.
Under this hiring freeze, all executive agencies and departments are prohibited from filling any vacancies with civilian hires, with limited exceptions.6Id. (providing that hiring freeze does not apply to “military personnel . . . immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety” positions). Like other recent executive decrees, this order has resulted in confusion due to a broad and aggressive enforcement seemingly inconsistent with the order itself.7See, e.g., Cheyenne Haslett, Federal Workers Took the “Buyout.” Some Got Fired Anyway, ABC News (Feb. 20, 2025), https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/federal-workers-buyout-fired/story?id=119010453 (discussing conflicting guidance and uncertain legality of “Fork in the Road” buyout offers to federal employees); Glenn Thrush, Justice Dept. Cancels Entry-Level Job Offers in Honors Program, N.Y. Times (Jan. 23, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/us/politics/justice-honors-program-trump.html (commenting that Attorney General’s Honors Program historically exempt from hiring freezes).
For example, job offers were not only rescinded for incoming paid government employees, but also for summer interns, whether paid or not.8Karen Sloan, Trump’s Hiring Freeze Leaves Thousands of Law Students Out in the Cold, Reuters (Jan. 27, 2025, 4:08 PM EST), https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trumps-hiring-freeze-leaves-thousands-law-students-out-cold-2025-01-27/.The Department of Justice and component U.S. Attorneys’ Offices typically bring in about 1,000 unpaid law student interns each summer.9Zoe Tillman, Trump’s DOJ Halts Unpaid Summer Internships for Law Students, Bloomberg (Jan. 24, 2025), https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/trump-s-doj-halts-unpaid-summer-internships-for-law-students/ar-AA1xOSsk. These interns provide helpful assistance to government attorneys and their staff, and in exchange, they enjoy a unique and beneficial experience and gain valuable insight into the inner workings of government agencies.
However, the abrupt revocation of internship offers has left scores of top law students scrambling to find other positions on short notice. Because most law interns are hired several months in advance, students who turned down other opportunities in lieu of pursuing a government internship are now left out in the cold after private law firms have already filled summer positions. A huge part of many law students’ career plans involves an internship with the federal government before graduation. Now that the rug has been pulled out from under them, many don’t know what to do.
One program affected by the hiring freeze is the Attorney General’s Honors Program, which is the Department of Justice’s prestigious and highly coveted entry-level attorney program. This hypercompetitive program is considered a pipeline into a legal career in the federal government and has historically been exempt from hiring freezes.10Glenn Thrush, Justice Dept. Cancels Entry-Level Job Offers in Honors Program, N.Y. Times (Jan. 23, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/us/politics/justice-honors-program-trump.html Prior administrations have recognized the immense value in recruiting top law students to join the Department of Justice so early in their careers in order to groom the next generation of elite government attorneys. Yet this value seems to be lost on this administration.
These developments are concerning. Without a doubt, the government should court and value law students and young attorneys who are qualified and highly motivated to pursue careers in public service. Government employees are an older demographic—a third of the federal workforce is 55-years-old or older, while only 8% are under 30.11Johanna Alonso, Hiring Freeze Cancels Internships with Federal Agencies, Inside Higher Ed. (Feb. 7, 2025), https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/careers/2025/02/07/hiring-freeze-cancels-internships-federal-agencies. In a profession that lacks a strong pool of younger professionals, blindly shutting the door to ambitious applicants who are drawn to public service while possessing exemplary qualifications is illogical.
Moreover, catering to fresh legal talent that demonstrates an early interest in working for the federal government is crucial to ensure that our government attracts the best candidates to serve the public. These candidates could choose to use their considerable talents to pursue more lucrative opportunities in the private sector. Instead, they are drawn to government service because there is meaning in representing the public interest. This should mean something to the government.
Many government attorneys, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys, get their start in the federal government through summer internships. Some of them eventually become federal judges. But maybe that’s part of the problem; the new administration has not bothered to hide its contempt for federal workers and the judiciary. To them, gutting the federal workforce doesn’t need to stop with mass firings across federal agencies. They want to discourage people from pursuing careers as public servants in the first place. Time will tell whether these efforts will be successful. But, it is a dangerous game.
