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Top headlines
Lead story
More than a dozen attorneys have either been fired or resigned from the Department of Justice since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
A few DOJ lawyers have publicly spoken in recent weeks about pressure from superiors to manage cases in ways that went against the law or legal ethics. In one case, an attorney was fired after speaking honestly in court about an immigration case.
More DOJ lawyers are likely to experience a similar workplace dilemma, if they haven’t already.
“They confront a critical question: To whom do they ultimately owe their loyalty?” asks legal ethics scholar Cassandra Burke Robertson.
“DOJ attorneys typically answer to multiple authorities, including the attorney general. But their highest loyalty belongs to the U.S. Constitution and justice itself,” Robertson explains in today’s lead story.
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The U.S. flag flies above Department of Justice headquarters on Jan. 20, 2024, in Washington.
J. David Ake/Getty Images
Cassandra Burke Robertson, Case Western Reserve University
Some Department of Justice attorneys have recently been fired or have resigned, refusing to follow directives from the Trump administration that they felt violated the law, legal ethics or both.
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Politics + Society
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Evelyn Farkas, Arizona State University
As Pete Hegseth has found, leading the US Defense Department is a big job, affecting Americans’ security at home and abroad and overseeing huge numbers of people and immense amounts of money.
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Science + Technology
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Nicole M. Bennett, Indiana University
Under the guise of efficiency and fraud prevention, the federal government is breaking down data silos to collect and aggregate information on virtually everyone in the US.
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Economy + Business
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Joshua M. Pearce, Western University
The problem is that costs – especially the costs to faculty – often go ignored.
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Environment + Energy
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David Shiffman, Arizona State University
America’s marine protected areas help fish populations thrive. Trump’s plan to open them to industrial fishing may ultimately harm the fishing industry itself.
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Laura Dee, University of Colorado Boulder
Uncertainty from Washington along with staff and budget cuts have created turmoil for the US Forest Service’s fire management efforts.
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Jeremy M. Gernand, Penn State
The democratic process of scientific study, public debate and comment helps regulators arrive at a rule that balances the needs and interests of workers, companies and the public.
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International
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Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham; Tetyana Malyarenko, National University Odesa Law Academy
As things stand, there is very little hope for a sustainable peace deal emerging from negotiations.
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From the archive️
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Joanne M. Pierce, College of the Holy Cross
This article from 2023 describes the College of Cardinals, an important part of the church's governance structure. Its members elect the next pope and help develop future policies for the church.
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