Federal Lawyer John Murdock Quits Interior Department, Warns Trump Admin Is Creating 'a S***** Country'

John Murdock, an 18-year veteran attorney at the United States Department of the Interior, has resigned in explosive fashion on 30 September 2026, denouncing what he termed a deeply troubling assault on the 'rule of law' by the Donald Trump administration.

In a scathing resignation letter obtained by The Guardian and Public Domain, the self-described conservative Christian warned that the agency was 'heading in the wrong direction' under its current energy agenda and criticised its approach to offshore drilling, environmental safeguards and internal communications praising Trump.

The resignation followed growing legal controversy around the administration's energy agenda. Murdock said his decision to resign was prompted in particular by events surrounding the Gulf of Mexico's BBG1 oil and gas lease sale, which drew 219 bids from 30 companies, including BP, Chevron and Shell, with total bids of about $371.9 million.

John Murdock Flays Oil and Gas Lease Sale

Matt Giacona, then acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, appeared at a New Orleans event in December to announce the sale results. According to Murdock's letter, Giacona said the administration was 'upholding the highest environmental standards.'

Murdock disputed that claim. He pointed to a memo from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Interior's legal office concluding that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a key provision of the Endangered Species Act and several other environmental safeguards were not applicable at the lease-sale stage.

Environmental groups have challenged the policy in court. George Torgun, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, said the administration had 'no basis' for exempting the drilling sales from environmental laws passed after destructive oil spills.

'This illegal action is a payback to oil and gas drillers,' Torgun said. 'Gulf communities, and the marine ecosystems that we all depend on, will pay the price.'

The administration has rejected that argument in a legal filing. It said Congress mandated the sale and that the agency lacked 'sufficient discretion to alter the scope or terms of the lease sale in ways that could affect environmental outcomes.'

Murdock characterised the policy as a legal failure. The administration has defended the sale as lawful.

While the Department of the Interior spokesperson dismissed his criticisms as personal disagreements and inflammatory rhetoric, the high-profile exit highlights a growing wave of dissent among career federal civil servants navigating aggressive deregulation.

John Murdock's Warning About Trump's Policies

Murdock wrote that he felt an 'ethical obligation to highlight the glaring legal flaws' he believed he had witnessed. His concerns were not limited to one lease sale.

He criticised what he described as the administration's decision to exempt Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations from the Endangered Species Act. He called the policy 'repugnant', noting that the Gulf is home to Rice's whales, which he described as among the most imperilled marine mammals.

The lawyer also referred to his earlier work helping respond to BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 'I do not want to now be part of creating an even greater disaster,' he wrote.

Murdock argued that the administration's stated 'all of the above' energy strategy had become 'one of the above,' which he said was focused solely on fossil fuels. He also criticised decisions to cancel offshore wind projects and reimburse TotalEnergies nearly $1 billion for relinquishing offshore wind leases.

His letter also addressed policies and actions beyond the Interior Department, including the use of masked federal agents, the treatment of Afghan allies, pardons and payments involving people connected to the Capitol riot, and the dismantling of USAID.

He also objected to an internal video sent to Interior employees. Murdock said its tone had shifted towards 'something approaching cultish worship' of Trump.

The Interior Department rejected Murdock's characterisation of its policies. 'One former employee's personal disagreement with the Department's policies does not transform lawful policy decisions into an 'assault on the rule of law,' nor does his inflammatory rhetoric make his opinion accurate,' a spokesperson said. 'The Department stands firmly behind its work to implement President Trump's agenda consistent with federal law.'

What Happens After John Murdock's Departure

Public Domain and other reporting have documented thousands of departures from the Interior Department since the Department of Government Efficiency began efforts to reduce the federal workforce in 2025.

Murdock acknowledged the financial cost of leaving. He wrote that he was giving up the stability and benefits of government work, and that his retirement would probably become 'less lucrative and more complicated.' 'Yet, I will gain much,' he wrote, 'and I will preserve my integrity.'

Giacona left the agency in September to join oilfield-services company Halliburton. The Guardian and Public Domain said Halliburton did not respond to requests for comment.

The legal dispute over the Gulf lease sale remains unresolved, while Murdock's resignation has added a prominent internal critic to the debate over the administration's energy and environmental policies. 'Flooding the zone with shit is a strategy for producing a shitty country,' Murdock wrote.