Democratic Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton stated on CNN Wednesday that he believes “thousands” of federal employees might resign by January due to President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in November.
Since his election win, secured through both the Electoral College and the popular vote, Trump has been announcing key nominations, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the Department of Health and Human Services, Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense, and Kash Patel for FBI Director.
During an appearance on CNN News Central, host Brianna Keilar asked Moulton about his concerns regarding the FBI’s potential politicization, following reports that current FBI Director Christopher Wray resigned earlier that day.
“Brianna, that’s exactly the word for it. Trump wants to politicize the FBI, to turn it back to the days of J. Edgar Hoover, where the FBI has its own really lawless agenda, where the FBI is a tool of the state to persecute Americans, not to actually uphold the law for everybody in our land. So it is very dangerous. The calculation that Chris Wray made when he decided to resign is a calculation that hundreds, thousands of federal employees are making right now all across Washington and all across the country,” Moulton said.
“I’ve heard from a lot of friends who work for the federal government trying to decide, do they wait to get fired? Do they resign on their own terms, as Chris Wray decided to do? Do they resign in the administration when they get to a point where they’re asked to do something that they fundamentally disagree with?” Moulton asked. “It’s a sad state of affairs, where so many public servants, people who joined the government, not because of a political affiliation, but just to do the right thing for the country, know that they’re going to be asked to do things that are lawless. They’re trying to figure out when the right time to resign is as Trump comes into office.”
Christopher Wray reportedly resigned amid speculation that he intended to step down to avoid being fired by Trump, who plans to replace him with Kash Patel. Patel previously served as chief of staff to former Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller during Trump’s first term.
Trump’s cabinet picks have drawn criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans. Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe stated that Patel’s nomination reflects Trump’s intent to “disrupt,” “dismantle,” and “distract” the agency in his second term.
Following Wray’s resignation, Trump posted on Truth Social, calling it “a great day for America,” claiming it would “end the weaponization” of what he referred to as the “United States Department of Injustice.” Trump had originally appointed Wray as FBI director in 2017 during his first administration.
