President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday tapped Chad Mizelle, previously acting general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, to serve as chief of staff at the Justice Department.
Mizelle, a Trump loyalist who helped develop and defend White House border security and deportation initiatives during Trump’s first term, will work with Pam Bondi, the president-elect’s nominee for attorney general, to to deliver on the mass deportations that Trump promised during the campaign.
“Chad is a MAGA warrior who will help bring accountability, integrity and justice back to the DOJ,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Saturday.
Mizelle has already worked with Bondi on the transition in Florida, POLITICO reported.
Mizelle previously served as counsel to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein under Trump before moving to DHS. He is a longtime ally of Stephen Miller, Trump’s immigration adviser and the White House’s new deputy chief of staff for policy. And Mizelle’s wife, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, is a Trump-appointed federal judge in Florida.
Also on Saturday, Trump announced the nomination of Aaron Reitz to lead the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy, which is charged with developing and implementing the DOJ’s major policy initiatives.
“Aaron will lead OLP in developing and implementing DOJ’s battle plans to advance my Law and Order Agenda and restore the integrity of our justice system,” the president-elect said in a separate Truth Social post on Saturday.
Reitz currently serves as chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and previously served as the self-described “offensive coordinator” in the Texas attorney general’s office, a role he said led to 46 lawsuits against the Biden administration. .
