Peter Carr's Testimony Before U.S. Senators

The following is Communications Director Peter Carr’s testimony before a July 22, 2026, Senate spotlight forum titled, “Todd Blanche: The President’s Lawyer.” Watch it here.

Thank you, Senator Booker, Ranking Member Durbin, and members of the Judiciary Committee for the opportunity to speak with you today.

I am one of hundreds of career Justice Department employees unlawfully terminated under the leadership of Todd Blanche.

In fact, he is the one who signed my termination notice.

I served as a government spokesman for nearly 25 years, and I started my career right here in the Senate, as a press secretary for Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah and former chairman of this very committee.

In 2007, I joined the Justice Department as a political appointee for President George W. Bush, where I oversaw public affairs for the entire department.

At the end of the Bush Administration, I converted to a career employee. Over my 15 years at the department I held a number of roles, including being assigned to serve as the spokesman for two Special Counsels: Robert Mueller and Jack Smith.

As part of my responsibilities with the Jack Smith cases, I attended the public court hearings both in D.C. and also in Florida. I was observed regularly by President Trump’s legal team, which included Todd Blanche. I also became acquainted with the current Associate Attorney General, Stanley Woodward, who served as counsel to Walt Nauta, a co-defendant in the Florida case.

After the election, I attended a hearing in January 2025 in Florida to determine whether the report covering the classified documents case would become public. At that hearing, Stanley Woodward approached me, shook my hand, and expressed his appreciation that I would continue to serve at the Justice Department.

That was surprising because within the first weeks, the new Administration terminated the prosecutors who worked in the Special Counsel’s Office and those who handled January 6th prosecutions.

This was traumatic for employees throughout the department. Never before had career employees been fired simply because of their case assignments.

Nevertheless, I was determined to stay. And at no point over the next months did I receive any indication that my work was unfavorable, insufficient, or not in the interest of the department.

That changed on April 11, 2025.

Walking down the hall to my office, I saw Todd Blanche, who at the time was the Deputy Attorney General, turn to look my way. I believe this was the first time he would have seen my face in the department.

Two hours later, a security officer came to my office and gave me an envelope. Inside was a memo from Todd Blanche, informing me that I had been immediately terminated from my position. The officer informed me that I had to gather my belongings, and then he escorted me out of the building.

My firing violated civil service protection laws. And I’m not alone. Blanche has fired or overseen the firings of hundreds of DOJ employees – usually without notice, and for improper, unlawful reasons.

But these firings aren’t just unlawful, they are also incredibly damaging to the department and its law enforcement mission.

The men and women at the Justice Department handle some of the most complicated and important cases in government. They are expected to do it and not think of the consequences.

They can’t do that anymore. This administration has fired or pushed out hundreds of the department’s best people for simply doing their jobs. People who did everything by the book. They just worked on cases people in power don’t like. Or they refused to move forward with cases where the facts and the law didn’t support criminal charges.

These firings send an unmistakable message: agents, analysts, lawyers, and even spokespeople can be fired simply because of their assigned cases.

This jeopardizes the department’s ability to pursue tough cases and hold the powerful to account.

If an agent or prosecutor thinks they’ll be fired for their cases, they are less likely to accept difficult assignments. And they might start looking more at the long-term consequences of an investigation for their careers, rather than at the facts and the law.

That’s not the justice we should want for our country.

And that’s why I now work for Justice Connection, a nonpartisan network of Justice Department alumni who are providing much-needed support for DOJ employees who have been harmed by this administration.

We come from all political viewpoints. Some, like me, are Republican, others are Democrats, but we share an overriding commitment to live up to the oath we took as civil servants to uphold and defend the Constitution, not the occupant of the White House.

More than 1,200 of us signed a letter opposing Todd Blanche’s nomination because the culture of fear Blanche has instilled within DOJ’s workforce must end. Respect for career professionals must return. For the rule of law to survive, we need a course-correction at the department – and Todd Blanche has shown us that it won’t happen on his watch.

For the sake of the institution where I once proudly served, I urge you to reject his nomination.