Loyalists to former President Donald Trump are scouting around for what the New York Times describes as "a more aggressive breed of right-wing lawyer" that will be far more inclined to do his bidding should he win a second term next year.
According to the Times, Trump allies are wary of hiring traditional Federalist Society lawyers whom they have blamed for blocking Trump's more radical initiatives and who resisted letting his efforts to illegally remain in power after losing the 2020 presidential election.
"People close to the former president say they are seeking out a different type of lawyer committed to his 'America First' ideology and willing to endure the personal and professional risks of association with Mr. Trump," writes the Times. "They want lawyers in federal agencies and in the White House who are willing to use theories that more establishment lawyers would reject to advance his cause."
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
This recruiting effort has caused alarm among some conservative attorneys, even some of whom served under the first Trump White House.
John Mitnick, the former Trump-appointed general counsel of the Homeland Security Department, told the Times that "no qualified attorneys with integrity will have any desire to serve as political appointees” in Trump's second term, and he warned that a second Trump White House would be “predominantly staffed by opportunists who will rubber-stamp whatever Trump and his senior White House staff want to do."
