WASHINGTON — What happens to federal employees who refuse to carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda because they are waiting for the next administration?
The Daily Wire put that question directly to Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday, asking what the administration is doing about concerns that ideological employees inside the FBI and the Department of Justice could remain in place, resist the president’s policies, and simply try “waiting out” Trump and a possible future Republican administration.
“There’s concern among the MAGA base that there’s a lot of ideological actors in the FBI and DOJ still that are waiting out President Donald Trump and the next possible Republican administration to get back to doing what they were before,” Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan asked Blanche. “Are you concerned about that? And what are you doing about that?”
“Ideological — any ideology that any federal employee has, whether it’s a federal agent or somebody at the Department of Justice or any other agency that works in this administration — and the executive is never a good thing — whether it’s Republican or Democrat,” Blanche replied.
“And so, I’m not sure exactly what you’re referring to, except for just generally,” he continued. “But one of the things that [FBI] Director [Kash] Patel has been doing, and that I’ve been doing and other cabinet secretaries have been doing, is making sure that everybody that works in this administration, whether you’re a career or a political, are doing work that’s consistent with the President’s agenda.”
“That’s what you have to do if you’re going to work in the executive,” Blanche added. “That’s what Article II says.”
“It’s not something that I ‘worry about,’ but when and if we learn about that happening, we’ll do whatever we can to stop it,” he concluded.
Article II of the Constitution vests executive power in the president and directs him to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” The Constitution Annotated, maintained by Congress’ Library of Congress, says the Supreme Court has recognized presidential authority to supervise executive officials, while also noting that Congress has established statutory structures governing the federal workforce.
The question of career employees resisting presidential policy has been a recurring issue in the Trump era. During Trump’s first administration, disputes between political appointees and career officials became a major subject of debate almost instantly, and the issue returned to the forefront immediately following Trump’s 2024 victory as his allies argued that the federal bureaucracy had obstructed his first-term agenda.
The administration has since taken substantial steps to alter the federal workforce. In February, the Office of Personnel Management finalized a rule creating the Schedule Policy/Career category for certain career positions involving policy-related work. The category, originally called “Schedule F,” essentially makes the positions within the category “at will” positions. OPM says those roles remain career-based and are filled on merit rather than being political appointments.
OPM also explicitly addressed “policy resistance” in the rulemaking, citing reports that career federal employees were resisting Trump administration policies and arguing that existing tools had proven insufficient to address the problem.
A September 2025 Politico report similarly described career federal employees who had chosen to remain in government despite Trump’s effort to shrink the bureaucracy. Some employees told the outlet that they believed administrations come and go while career employees remain, though administration officials argued that federal workers still have an obligation to perform the duties assigned to them.
The FBI has been at the center of the dispute. In June, former FBI officials established the FBI Support Network, an offshoot of the Justice Connection, to provide legal, mental-health, and employment assistance to current bureau employees amid the Trump administration’s restructuring efforts. Former officials described significant tension inside the bureau, while FBI Director Kash Patel has repeatedly rejected accusations that personnel decisions are politically motivated, saying the bureau is addressing bias and misconduct.
The competing visions go to the heart of the argument over the federal bureaucracy: whether career officials provide institutional expertise that should remain insulated from politics, or whether unelected officials can undermine the elected president when they disagree with his policies.
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