CNN
—

Attorney General Merrick Garland, who is nearing the end of his tenure leading the Justice Department, told career prosecutors Monday that they are the “backbone” of the Justice Department and urged them to continue to “enforce the rule of law”.

In his first public comments since President-elect Donald Trump took office selected former Rep. Matt Gaetz Garland, chosen to lead the Justice Department, asked prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to continue protecting the department’s “mission.”

Gaetz ridiculed the Justice Department as riddled with members of the so-called “deep state” hostile to Trump.

“You can’t have the same career people who grew up in a system that was subject to political capture,” Gaetz said in an interview this summer.

On Monday, Garland sought to rally department employees as he finishes a tenure that has at times been overshadowed by investigations involving Trump, but also laid out corruption cases against prominent Democrats such as like Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey.

“I may be coming to the end of my term at the Department of Justice, but I know that you will all continue to pursue the department’s mission – what has always been its mission – to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe and protect civil rights,” Garland said.

He continued: “You, the career lawyers of the Department of Justice as a whole, are the institutional backbone of this Department. You are the historical memory of this department. You are the heart and soul of the department. You are the Department of Justice.

Garland has not publicly addressed Trump’s selection of Gaetz, but his comments come after Gaetz’s nomination shocked the department and worried some Justice Department officials that his nomination would lead to the departure of a larger number of people, either voluntarily or as part of efforts to expel employees who are not. considered loyal to the new administration.

“I couldn’t be more proud of you, and I couldn’t be more grateful for all the work you’ve done to protect the American people,” Garland said Monday.

Garland’s comments contrast with how his predecessor and likely successor described the career ranks. Attorney General William Barr has mocked the traditional deference that top leaders give to career department employees, whose work often spans the administrations of both major political parties.

“Letting younger members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it’s no way to run a federal agency,” Barr said in a 2020 speech.

At the time, Barr was responding to pushback from career lawyers and even some politicians who criticized his intervention in politically sensitive cases important to Trump. Barr overturned the decision of career lawyers in the Conviction of Roger Stone, Trump ally And ordered a review of the prosecution of General Mike Flynnwhich led the department to drop the criminal charges.

Garland is making his final round of visits to U.S. attorneys’ offices across the country, still short of a handful of districts he won’t be able to reach before he leaves. Attorneys general traditionally strive to visit every U.S. attorney while they are in office, a sprawling goal made more difficult now that the 94th U.S. Attorney’s Office is a district that covers Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.