“So Trump’s DOJ made the call? WTF?”
The vast majority of “civil servants” serve for their entire career. Having met some retired state department people, they were gay as hell, and liberal idiots. Not a logical bone in their body.
I was employed be several large companies in the military industrial complex. Those companies are a reflection of the military they serve. There is a corresponding employee for practically every military rank. I watched petty people undercut what the managers wanted to do by slow-walking or outright ignoring orders. Employees who had served in the military said it was similar there. If the lower ranks don’t want something to happen, it won’t. Even if what the management wants to do would save the jobs of lower level people, if those lower level people want to stymie the boss, they will even if it results in their layoff. The attitude is, “Well, we’ll just see about THAT!”
One problem, which we call The Swamp, is some of those civil servants see themselves as the real boss. We saw some of that with, I think his name was Lindeman. A colonel who was insulted Trump didn’t do what he wanted him to.
I think the guy you are referring to is COL Vindman ... he got promoted ...