The Justice Department in Washington is exploring the possibility of combining the key agencies responsible for enforcing drug and gun laws in a significant restructuring effort aimed at fulfilling President Donald Trump’s directive to streamline the government. Along with merging the Drug Enforcement Agency and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, officials are contemplating the closure of field offices handling antitrust and environmental matters, as outlined in a memo dated March 25 obtained by Reuters.
In the memo, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche instructed department staff to provide feedback on the proposed reorganization by April 2. A spokesperson for the DOJ has not yet responded to requests for comment.
This wide-ranging plan follows previous reports that the Justice Department was contemplating a substantial reduction in staffing within the Public Integrity Section, which oversees the department’s most politically sensitive cases of public corruption.
The memo suggests reallocating some public corruption attorneys to various U.S. Attorneys’ offices, while maintaining a core team of supervisory attorneys within the section. Other proposed changes include consolidating all grant offices within the Justice Department and discontinuing the Community Relations Service, which works to ease tensions in local communities.
