The Biden-Harris administration is taking steps to safeguard hundreds of Department of Justice jobs from being affected by the Trump administration's policies, according to a watchdog group.

The DOJ may be being "Trump-proofed" by the Biden-Harris administration through the hiring of permanent appointees for some federal positions, as per a watchdog group's public records request findings.

PPT obtained FOIA documents revealing the administration is employing a "secretive hiring method" to fill DOJ positions, which could hinder former President Trump's plans if he returns to office in 2025.

The DOJ is employing Schedule A hiring authority to fill hundreds of attorney and judge positions in career civil service roles without undergoing competitive selection, according to a watchdog group.

Michael Chamberlain, the founder of PPT and a former U.S Department of Education worker, stated in an interview with Planet Chronicle Digital that the Constitution is the foundation of our democracy or republic, and it vests decision-making authority in the executive branch and the president, as well as principal and inferior officers in government agencies. As such, they are supposed to represent the people.

The president is chosen by the people. However, efforts to undermine the authority of principal and inferior officers to make decisions, whether they come from career officials within the government or outsiders, especially those within the government, seem undemocratic, according to him.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) states that Schedule A is intended to hire individuals with disabilities or for specific roles, but it also ensures job security beyond the current president's term.

Despite federal law prohibiting Schedule A appointments from being "policy-making or confidential," they are being utilized to staff highly "politicized" offices, such as the ENRD, which is crucial in advancing the Biden-Harris administration's environmental policies and maintaining their continuity even under a potential future administration change.

Over 150 attorneys and 100 immigration judges are employed in the DOJ's Anti-Trust Division and Immigration Division, respectively. The Anti-Trust Division focuses on enforcing antitrust laws, while the Immigration Division determines whether a noncitizen is allowed to remain in the United States or must leave the country.

The Biden-Harris administration's aggressive implementation of anti-trust enforcement has sparked complaints of politicized enforcement. Additionally, the administration is using Schedule A to install immigration judges outside of the normal merit-based system, who will rule on cases of those in a position to benefit from the administration's immigration policies, according to PPT in a news release.

ENRD, responsible for enforcing environmental laws related to the administration's climate agenda, including environmental justice and protecting the interests of Native American tribes, was also used to hire attorneys using Schedule A.

The ENRD plays a crucial role in advancing the Biden-Harris administration's energy and climate policies, and placing Biden-Harris loyalists in the office is a way to protect those policies even if a future Trump (or other) administration tries to alter them, according to PPT.

Chamberlain stated that we were more impressed by the scale of the hires than by any specific names.

The ATF, Office of the Inspector General, and Civil Rights Division were among the offices that refused to share records due to privacy or related exemptions, according to Chamberlain.

The Biden-Harris administration tightened the rules for firing federal workers this year.

Biden viewed the rule as a step to combat corruption and partisan interference, allowing civil servants to concentrate on their primary duty of serving the American people.

The Office of Personnel Management has implemented new regulations that prevent career civil servants from being reclassified as political appointees or at-will workers, in response to Schedule F, an executive order issued by Trump in 2020 that aimed to reduce the job security protections of tens of thousands of the 2.2 million federal employees, according to The Associated Press.

The White House did not respond to Planet Chronicle Digital by the deadline for publication.

Planet Chronicle Digital's Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.