One of the top spokespeople at the Department of Justice (DOJ), Joshua Stueve, reportedly submitted his resignation letter on Thursday, citing a “hostile and toxic work environment.”
Newsweek reached out for comment to the DOJ via online press contact form on Thursday.
Why It Matters
A significant number of DOJ officials have resigned in protest since President Donald Trump began his second term on January 20, with some accusing the new administration of corruption and demands to launch politically motivated investigations.
The newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has also been aggressively targeting government agencies with cost-cutting measures and initiating mass firings in recent weeks.
Demands that remaining workers justify their employment in writing and submit to constant monitoring by Musk and DOGE have inspired heavy backlash and lawsuits from workers and federal unions.
The situation may have escalated on Wednesday night, when Trump signed an executive order demanding that federal agency heads work with “DOGE Team Leads” monitoring each agency and justify spending on government contracts and grants within 30 days.
What To Know
Stueve, who serves as senior communications adviser and spokesperson, announced that Friday will be his last day at the DOJ, according to NBC News.
However, Stueve said that his regulation will be “effective Sept. 30, 2025” in a copy of the resignation letter shared by CBS News producer Michael Kaplan on X, formerly Twitter.
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In the letter, Stueve emphasized that his decision to resign was not influenced by the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, while lamenting that “basic decency” had suddenly vanished from his workplace.
“In fact, it has been an honor to serve this department under multiple administrations led by both Republicans and Democrats, each of whom have previously treated career staff with respect and dignity,” he said. “It is heartbreaking to see that basic decency come to an end,” he said.
“Simply put, I cannot continue to serve in such a hostile and toxic work environment, one where leadership at the highest levels makes clear we are not welcome or valued, much less trusted to do our jobs.”
What People Are Saying
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Tuesday: “[Government jobs] are not real jobs producing federal revenue, by the way. They’re consuming taxpayer dollars. Those jobs are paid for by the American tax people, who work real jobs, earn real income, pay federal taxes and then pay these federal employees… Federal employees do not deserve their jobs. Federal employees do not deserve their paychecks.”
Hagan Scotten, a former federal prosecutor who was handling the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, in a resignation letter to acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove this month: “No system of ordered liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives… If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to me.”
What Happens Next
While the future remains uncertain, Stueve may not be the last DOJ official to resign in the near future, especially in light of the continuing upheaval in the federal government.
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