The Justice Department has eased its ethics guidelines for the attorney general and other senior political appointees, clearing the way for them to take part in partisan political activities.
In a memo issued this week, Assistant Attorney General Jolene Ann Laurie said Senate-confirmed presidential appointees may speak at rallies, canvass for votes and serve as delegates or officers of a national political party, provided they act in their personal capacities.
The guidance covers the attorney general, deputy attorney general, assistant attorneys general, FBI director, U.S. attorneys and other senior officials.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi had already loosened the rules during her tenure by permitting political appointees to attend rallies and fundraisers. The latest memo expands that permission further.
It explicitly says presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed Justice Department employees are not subject to the stricter standards applied to certain other DOJ personnel, including administrative law judges and employees in the Criminal Division.
Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke at the Republican midterm convention in September and attended a rally for a Republican Senate candidate in North Carolina. His appearances prompted criticism that he had breached long-standing Justice Department norms designed to keep politics separate from law enforcement.
“I am not in any way violating any rule or law,” Blanche said of his participation, emphasizing that he attended the events in his personal capacity.
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The policy shift follows tighter restrictions imposed by the Biden-era Justice Department on political activity by appointees.
“Non-career appointees may not attend any partisan political events, even in their personal capacities,” a 2024 memo stated, continuing a policy introduced two years earlier.
That memo also instructed appointees to “avoid making public appearances in any state shortly before a primary or general election in that state, to the greatest extent practicable.”
PBS News was the first to report on the revised guidelines.
