President-elect Donald Trump has difficulty finding a candidate for Attorney General who ticks all his boxes even after facing the opinions of his closest advisors and collaborators.

The former president has already met with several candidates for this position, including at least one Tuesday, according to CNN. Trump currently has no favorite for the position, the network noted.

While Trump’s relationships with many of his cabinet secretaries His first administration ended badly, few as chaotic as his failed relationships with his attorneys general – Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr. Trump fired Sessions after recusing himself from the Russia investigation, and Barr ultimately resigned after the 2020 election amid Trump’s false election fraud claims.

Many Justice Department staffers are worried about Trump returning to power. White House will result in a loss of department independence, which has been the norm in post-Watergate America, according to CNN.

Current and former department officials predict that some could leave, be expelled or sidelined from the Trump Justice Department.

Conservative lawyer Mark Paoletta, close to Trump, wrote on X on Monday that “if these career Justice Department employees are not implementing President Trump’s agenda in good faith, they should go.” Employees who engage in so-called “resistance” against the legitimate agenda of the duly elected president would subvert American democracy.”

Trump and members of his team have said the attorney general is the cabinet’s most vital role if he is to succeed in fulfilling his campaign promises of a broad immigration crackdown and investigating his opponents.

Last month, Trump’s vice presidential pick, JD Vance, told ABC: “I think the most important person in government after the president for this cycle will be the attorney general.” »

Some Justice Department staffers, like special counsel Jack Smith, could be targets of retaliation during Trump’s second term, CNN claims. Others include lawyers tied to Trump-related investigations, such as the Capitol riot probe, according to Trump and some of his allies.

Members of the FBI are also likely to be in the hot seat after the agency conducted a forensic search at Mar-a-Lago as part of the investigation into the former president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Trump has indicated he is preparing to fire FBI Director Christopher Wray after appointing him in 2017. Wray took office after Trump fired his predecessor James Comey.

With Wray set to resign, according to CNN, FBI officials are first trying to determine whether Trump will follow through on his promise to fire him.

Appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience Just days before the election, Trump praised members of the FBI while disparaging the agency’s leaders.

“The FBI is awesome. The people there, not the top people, the people, the real people, the people who work there,” he said at the time. “It’s like the real generals I told you about who defeated ISIS in record time. The FBI guys are awesome.

Some federal government officials are concerned about this summer’s Supreme Court ruling, which strengthened the president’s legal protections regarding how Trump can deal with the department.

During his first term in the White House, Trump became frustrated with some of his own nominees working against him when he wanted to launch investigations into his political opponents such as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

A Justice Department official told CNN: “The handcuffs will be removed now. »