WASHINGTON (CN) — During the 2024 election, then-candidate Donald Trump campaigned on radically reshaping the federal government, changes he has already set in motion with his unconventional nominees to lead agencies like the Department of Justice and the FBI.
Legal experts from the law firm McDermott Will outlined a series of likely changes and priority shifts from President Joe Biden’s administration on a press call on Thursday.
The attorneys added that while Trump has distanced himself from the infamous “Project 2025” created by the Heritage Foundation, many of the proposals from the 922-page playbook are likely to materialize throughout the federal government.
The Department of Justice, which Trump has railed against after being criminally investigated and charged by special counsel Jack Smith, is set to undergo the most dramatic changes.
Trump has tapped a number of loyalists to head the nation’s top law enforcement body, with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi poised to replace Merrick Garland as attorney general. The Judiciary Committee announced Wednesday that Bondi’s initial confirmation interview would begin Jan. 15.
Sagar Ravi, a McDermott partner and former Justice Department prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, said Thursday that under Bondi, the department would prioritize, in order: immigration enforcement, violent crime and transitional criminal enterprises, the opioid crisis, national security and export controls, antitrust enforcement and Justice Department reforms.
Ravi added that, while Bondi has extensive law enforcement experience unlike Trump’s first pick Matt Gaetz, she has never held a position at the Justice Department and could aim to “shake things up” upon her arrival.
Ravi explained that Trump’s promise of mass deportations would primarily be handled by U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the states, while the Justice Department would take actions like target large corporations who hire undocumented immigrants.
He highlighted Trump’s proposed tariffs against countries like China, Mexico and Canada as a major change from the Biden administration’s use of sanctions against Russia and its trading partners.
“I expect any efforts to circumvent these tariffs, whether by misclassifying or smuggling goods or failing to pay required fees, those will likely also be priorities for prosecution,” Ravi said.
Another large shift would materialize in the Justice Department’s white-collar crime divisions, particularly in its enforcement against cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and public corruption.
While the Biden administration has heavily targeted cryptocurrency and AI, Trump’s decision to tap David Sacks as his new “AI and crypto czar” indicated his goal to ease up on crypto and shift the government’s view on AI to focus on “consumer and free-speech violations.”
Trump’s public corruption enforcement, Ravi said, would likely target what Trump has described as the “weaponization” of the Justice Department — specifically his two federal criminal cases for subverting the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents — as well as perceived “election fraud.”
Jon Dubrow, head of McDermott’s antitrust group, said Thursday that one point Trump would likely keep consistent with Biden is heightened scrutiny against Big Tech companies and health care corporations, issues that have bipartisan and popular support.
Dubrow did not address specific cases such as the ongoing antitrust actions against Google, but suggested Gail Slater, Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department’s antitrust division, may be more inclined to pursue divestment settlements than current antitrust head Jonathan Kanter.
Trump also tapped Todd Blanche, Emil Bove, John Sauer, and Harmeet Dhillon to take over as deputy attorney general, principal associate deputy attorney general, solicitor general and lead the civil rights division. Blanche, Bove and Sauer helped represent Trump throughout his criminal cases.
Ravi noted that he worked with Blanche and Bove during his time in New York, and described them as “institutionalist.” Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for FBI director, is the exact opposite in that regard, Ravi said.
Alex Southwell, McDermott partner and regulatory enforcement defense attorney, said he expects Patel to enact many Project 2025 proposals and would try to act immediately on proposals like closing the FBI headquarters in Washington to create a “Museum of the Deep State,” streamlining its non-law enforcement staff, changing the director’s 10-year term, and realigning FBI reporting within the Justice Department.
Southwell added that Patel would likely review and eliminate what he deemed “lawless policies, investigations and cases,” while modifying the jurisdiction and focus of the civil rights division, overhauling the Justice Department grants application process and, importantly, ensuring the assignment of political appointees throughout the Justice Department.
Patel’s nomination made clear Trump intends to reverse major criminal investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which Patel and other Trump loyalists have described as part of the “weaponization” of the Justice Department and FBI.
The panelists noted that, out of all Trump’s nominees, Patel could face the most pushback from the Senate during his confirmation hearings, but did not expect him to meet the same fate as Gaetz.