The other day, I pleaded with the elder statesmen and stateswomen of this country to say and do more amid the outrages taking place.
One of my points was that if government officials caught up in the maelstrom have the courage to stand up for what is right, then certainly high-level leaders—in positions of greater prominence and comfort—can do the same.
To expand on that, let me honor as my Patriots of the Week some of those officials who have been willing to stand up to Trump and DOGE, and who have been terminated, resigned or placed on leave as a result:
Danielle Sassoon, acting US Attorney (SDNY): Yale Law grad and former clerk to Justice Scalia; resigned, as she wrote: “[b]ecause the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that [NYC Mayor] Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged, I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations."
Numerous other DOJ officials joined her in resigning amid the Adams scandal, including:
Hagan Scotten, a former clerk to Justice John Roberts, who wrote of the pressure to dismiss charges against Adams: “If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.”
When the administration tried to move the case to the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section to be dismissed, leaders of that section also refused, then resigned.
Denise Cheung, a 25-year Assistant US Attorney and head of the criminal division, U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C., resigned after receiving an order to open a grand jury investigation into Biden-era climate funds; she refused, stating that there was insufficient evidence “to issue the letter you described.”
Jim Jones — FDA, director of the Food and Drug Administration food division —stated that the Trump administration’s “‘disdain for the very people’ needed to implement food safety reforms gave him no choice but to depart”
Other officials—many having served this country for decades—bravely stood up to efforts by DOGE to gain access to private data of millions of Americans.
Michelle King, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), served the agency for over 30 years; King stood up to DOGE as they tried to access the private data of millions of Americans, resigning amid the dispute
David Lebryk, the acting Deputy Secretary of Treasury, resigned from his position after more than 30 years of service; “Lebryk and Musk's surrogates clashed over access to a sensitive system used to pay out more than $6 trillion a year in Social Security and Medicare benefits as well as federal salaries, government contract payments and tax refunds.”
Steven Reilly: lead engineer at the Technology Transformation Services arm of the General Services Administration; resigned on February 18, 2025, after refusing to turn over sensitive data: ““We have made clear…that this level of permission would allow access to PII. While we have suggested alternatives, such as read-only access, Thomas has continued to request full admin/root access.”
John Voorhees and Brian McGill: The director of security at USAID and his deputy were placed on administrative leave after attempting to block DOGE from accessing secure USAID systems:
“When USAID Director of Security John Voorhees and his deputy, Brian McGill, refused to allow them in, the DOGE employees threatened to call the U.S. Marshals”
Both were later placed on administrative leave for having done so.
Kudos to these heroes, and others, for being willing to stand on principle.
Of course, it makes me ill to know that they will be replaced by others who will likely go along with improper or illegal orders. My guess is they pushed back as hard as they could, ultimately resigning amid their public statements to draw attention to the inappropriate behavior they were confronting. We can only hope countless others who remain in important government positions are standing up as well—and staying on as long as possible.
The craven GOP politicians on Capitol Hill must be stunned by these actions. Judging by their words and actions, it’s clear that risking status and power in order to do the right thing by our country is a concept they can’t fathom.
As for everyone else, standup however and whenever you can.
Day 81 — February 20, 2025
Kash Patel was confirmed to be the nation’s next FBI director.
To assure independence, the FBI directorship is supposed to be a 10-year term (and not coincide with new presidents), but Christopher Wray complied in advance to allow Trump to pick a new director at the onset of his term.
And this new director is a true nightmare. Among his attributes, Patel:
is wholly unqualified
is a nut. As columnist David French wrote:
“He still won’t acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, and he believes the F.B.I. helped trigger the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.”
“He wrote a book called “Government Gangsters” that includes a list of 60 people whom he calls a “cabal of unelected tyrants.””
“He posted an animated video online that portrays him as a lumberjack sawing through a log, except the log contains images of his political opponents, including Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and Pete Buttigieg.”
“[H]e told Steve Bannon, “We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.”
“[H]e actually wrote a series of children’s books celebrating “King Donald.”
Patel appears to have lied at his confirmation hearing, denying that he was involved in a purge of FBI officials even before being confirmed
There are so many other problems with Patel, as detailed HERE.
Nevertheless, 51 GOP Senators voted to confirm him.
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