As we wrap up 2024, the federal government is starting to pack up the lives and careers of those in the big alphabet letter agencies. The press describes this negatively, as Donald Trump "seeking vengeance." In reality, the American political order is working as intended and forcing accountability onto itself.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the Department of Justice remains in total disarray, and lawyers and officials across the entire department are considering jumping ship. This kind of shift happens at the end of any administration as people move between career tracks. However, Trump is forcing even more change than normal.

How bad is it? Neither law firms nor legal recruiters have seen anything like it. "Law firms say they have seen an unprecedented flood of résumés from department lawyers looking for the exits. While presidential transitions always upend the ranks of political appointees, "now, it's seeping into a lot of career people," said Steve Nelson, a legal recruiter who helps lawyers make the jump from government into the private sector."

The recruiter added, "'The number of people leaving, or looking at opportunities outside the Justice Department or elsewhere in the government, is way higher than it's ever been before,' Nelson said."

Many of these government lawyers are looking to jump into BigLaw, grabbing a cushy partner or associate job. However, there aren't enough of those jobs to go around. The most prominent law firms are full, forcing some of these legal types to either try to stay and work with Trump or take normal jobs like the average American.

The desire to get regular American jobs isn't enticing to this cohort. They also seek more prestigious jobs because it would allow them to use firm resources to defend themselves. For a group of people who claim everything they did was above board, they're all extremely concerned about any light getting shined on the work they did as public servants.

Part of this shift is intentional. The Department of Justice staffed up different divisions throughout the Biden administration to push the White House's bottom line. For instance, when Joe Biden started making the "greedflation" line, blaming inflation on literally anyone but his administration's policies, the DOJ staffed up the antitrust division.

Biden accused corporations of driving up prices outside the inflation surge everyone was experiencing. The DOJ responded by pushing antitrust litigation more strongly than previous administrations. This policy change led to the Biden DOJ pushing to stop the JetBlue and Spirit Airlines merger, claiming it would harm customers.

After the deal collapsed, Spirit Airlines declared bankruptcy. For those counting at home, destroying businesses is worse for customers. Notably, the head of the DOJ Antitrust Division, Jonathan Kanter, left the Biden administration early. Where he's headed after this is anyone's guess, but it's a similar story across the board in political appointee positions on down.

Jack Smith and his special counsel team have a similar story. After Trump won, Smith closed the case and announced he was leaving the DOJ before Trump took office.

Again, some turnover is expected as political appointees head for the doors, and their replacements await the nomination process. What we're witnessing is more than that: Everyone is jumping ship because they believe Trump's change is coming.

That's why Politico, the New York Times, and others have reported that the "deep state" is positioning itself to handle the incoming Trump administration. But as we get closer to inauguration day, we're seeing people in the DOJ just jump ship to get out of the way.

Trump's push to clean up the house is starting early. Again, this is a form of transparency being forced on a government that does not want it. The bureaucracy is not afforded unlimited secrecy. They must provide accounts for everything they did with taxpayer money and how they used the power the state gives them. 

For the last decade, there's been this belief, particularly on the left, that we should trust "public servants" in these roles. But that collapses once you start pointing out all the flaws that this bureaucracy has made in the last four years. Transparency is needed, and many of these bureaucrats are fleeing instead of providing that. 

It's hard to blame Trump or anyone for distrusting this impulse. To that end, it's in the country's interest that these people continue quitting and leaving their jobs. Replacing them won't happen immediately, but it's doable. 

The press calls this revenge, but transparency is anything but that. It's time to clean America's house, and we're getting off to a good start before inauguration day even arrives.