The FBI and Justice Department are filling staff vacancies created by mass resignations and firings over the past year by relaxing hiring standards — shortening training programs, waiving interviews, and hiring prosecutors fresh out of law school. Current and former officials worry these changes undermine the professional expertise both agencies have long required, especially as the FBI faces turnover linked to political pressures under the Trump administration. The FBI says it's streamlining bureaucratic steps, not lowering standards, and claims a 112% surge in applications. What's less clear is whether the volume of applicants translates to higher-quality recruits who can offset the skilled people who have left.