Hegseth orders military to provide dozens of lawyers to Justice Department [View all]

Source: The Independent

Friday 31 October 2025 11:01 EDT


Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered the military to provide dozens of lawyers to the Justice Department for temporary assignments, according to a memo released this week. The assignments are in Memphis and near the U.S.-Mexico border and could run through next fall.

“I am directing you to collectively identify 48 attorneys and 4 paralegals from within your Military Department who may be suitable for detail” to the Justice Department to act as special assistant U.S. attorneys, Hegseth wrote in a memo dated Monday. It was sent to all four services and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The memo appears to be the latest effort to send military and civilian attorneys working for the Pentagon to the Justice Department, this time to staff offices based along the U.S. southern border or where federal immigration enforcement operations are taking place.

In September, the Pentagon also approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to the Justice Department to serve as temporary immigration judges in a separate effort.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/pete-hegseth-justice-department-lawyers-b2855892.html