Justice Department Memo Lets Senate-Confirmed Appointees Speak at Rallies and Canvass for Candidates

The Justice Department has relaxed its ethics rules for senior political appointees, allowing them to take part in partisan campaign activity less than a month before the midterm elections. A memo sent this week by Assistant Attorney General Jolene Ann Laurie says Senate-confirmed presidential appointees may speak at rallies, canvass for votes and serve as delegates or officers of a national political party, as long as they act in their personal capacities. PBS News reported the new guidelines first.

The guidance covers Attorney General Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, assistant attorneys general, the FBI director, U.S. attorneys and others in similar roles. The memo also exempts these Senate-confirmed employees from stricter rules that still apply to some other Justice Department staff, including administrative law judges and employees in the Criminal Division.

The change builds on steps taken by Blanche's predecessor. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi had already eased the rules during her tenure, allowing political appointees to attend rallies and fundraisers. The new memo goes further by permitting active participation, not just attendance.

It also reverses the approach of the previous administration. A 2024 memo, which continued a policy set two years earlier, barred non-career appointees from attending any partisan political events, even in a personal capacity. It told appointees to avoid public appearances in a state shortly before that state's primary or general election, "to the greatest extent practicable."

Blanche has already tested the boundaries. In September he spoke at the Republican midterm convention, and he also attended a rally for a North Carolina Republican Senate candidate. Critics said those appearances broke long-standing Justice Department norms meant to keep politics separate from law enforcement. Blanche rejected the criticism, saying he was not breaking any rule or law and that he had attended the events in his personal capacity.

The new memo effectively puts that position in writing. The distinction between personal and official capacity is the hinge of the policy, and the memo does not remove the question of how the public is meant to tell the difference when the nation's top law enforcement official appears at a campaign event.

The timing is notable. Prosecutors and U.S. attorneys are in the final weeks before an election in which the Justice Department has itself been a major political topic, from voter-roll lawsuits against states to indictments in cases with political overtones. The department has long followed an informal practice of avoiding overt actions that could affect an election as the vote nears, and the 2024 guidance wrote that caution into policy.

The CBS News report did not include a statement from the Justice Department beyond the memo, and it did not include reaction from Democrats or outside groups. The memo applies to Senate-confirmed appointees only, and it leaves in place the limits on career staff.