Trump has vowed to end the "weaponisation" of the Justice Department and has set about nominating and appointing allies to top posts in the department. Smith himself resigned from the Justice Department shortly before Trump took office, and both federal cases have effectively ended.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's first day at the Pentagon is expected to include an array of executive orders, including "removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of Covid mandates" and an "Iron Dome for America.

Changeover among federal government agencies is normal when a new administration comes to Washington, with presidents regularly dismissing appointees selected by predecessors from opposing political parties.

The largest union representing U.S. government employees filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to block President Donald Trump's plan to reclassify up to 50,000 federal workers and make it easier to fire them.

In termination letters sent to more than a dozen officials, acting Attorney General James McHenry wrote that he did not believe they "could be trusted to faithfully implement the President's agenda."