Trump administration removes acting head of DOJ’s National Security Division: Sources

The Trump administration has removed a career Justice Department official from his role as the acting head of the DOJ’s National Security Division after the top prosecutor served in the position for less than a month, sources told ABC News.

Devin DeBacker, who in that role was an acting assistant attorney general, served for only a few weeks in the position, which helps oversee the Justice Department’s efforts to fight global terrorism, root out domestic extremism, stop foreign espionage operations, enforce U.S. sanctions, and investigate leaks of classified information.

In the first few days of the new Trump administration, as previously reported by ABC News, DeBacker tried to ease concerns within the department’s National Security Division after two of its most experienced prosecutors were removed.

But on Monday, Justice Department leadership told DeBacker that he would no longer be leading the division, according to sources familiar with the matter. It’s unclear why DeBacker was removed, and a Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment about the matter.

A DOJ official told ABC News Tuesday that Sue Bai, a career official who recently worked on the National Security Division’s Terrorism and Export Crimes section, will serve as the acting head of the division “subject to an anticipated appointment order.”

Under the first Trump administration, DeBacker served in the White House counsel’s office and then the Justice Department. He left at the start of the Biden administration, but rejoined the Justice Department a year later, becoming chief of the National Security Division’s foreign investment review section.

Sources said he is expected to continue in that role.

On his LinkedIn page, DeBacker describes himself as “a strategic counselor and senior government executive with deep experience in national security, complex litigation and investigations, and crisis and risk management.”