March 4, 2026
DOJ rescinds no-knock warrant limits and lets political appointees go to fundraisers
Blanche widens the door to no-knock raids as Bondi reopens DOJ to partisan fundraisers
⚖️Justice📜Constitutional Law✊Civil Rights
Deputy Attorney General 
Todd Blanche rescinded the Biden-era no-knock warrant policy on March 3, 2026. The Biden policy required supervisory approval before a no-knock entry and evidence that knocking would create an imminent physical danger to law enforcement. It was adopted in response to the March 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, who was shot by police executing a no-knock warrant at her apartment.
Under the new Blanche policy, federal agents can conduct a no-knock entry whenever there is a 'risk of evidence destruction' — a standard legal experts said is so broad it could justify no-knock entries in nearly any search involving drugs, electronic devices, or documents. The prior standard required evidence of imminent danger, not just risk.
A no-knock warrant allows law enforcement to enter a home or premises without first knocking, announcing their presence, and waiting for a response. The Fourth Amendment requires searches to be reasonable, but courts have interpreted this to allow no-knock entries under certain circumstances.
Attorney General 
Pam Bondi separately rescinded former AG Merrick Garland's 2022 ban on DOJ political appointees attending partisan events. The Garland rule prohibited political appointees from attending political fundraisers, campaign events, or partisan political gatherings in any capacity — official or personal — without explicit DOJ Ethics Office approval.
Under Bondi's restored policy, political appointees can attend partisan events in their 'personal capacity' with approval. This does not change the Hatch Act — the federal law governing political activity by federal employees — but it removes the additional ethical restriction Garland imposed to protect the DOJ's reputation for independence.
Both changes were made through internal DOJ policy memos. Neither required congressional authorization, a notice-and-comment rulemaking period, or a court order. The changes took effect immediately and apply to all DOJ law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and DEA.
The no-knock policy reversal has particular significance given the DOJ's expanded role in immigration enforcement. ICE and CBP already use no-knock-style entries in immigration enforcement under separate authorities. The rescission applies to federal criminal investigators — FBI, DEA — not directly to ICE.
The Garland partisan events ban was part of a broader effort to rebuild DOJ credibility after the Trump first term, during which the department was widely perceived as acting in the president's political interests. Bondi's rescission came on the same day Blanche rescinded the no-knock policy — two simultaneous signals about the DOJ's relationship with political independence.
The two changes, taken together, expand federal law enforcement power over individuals while reducing structural constraints on DOJ officials' political activity. One tightens what the government can do to citizens; the other loosens what DOJ political appointees are permitted to do for campaigns.
The Breonna Taylor killing in 2020 led to nationwide protests and a bipartisan push for no-knock warrant reform. Several states passed their own no-knock restrictions after Taylor's death. The federal policy Blanche rescinded was one of the few concrete federal-level reforms to emerge from that national debate.
⚖️Justice📜Constitutional Law✊Civil Rights
People, bills, and sources
Todd Blanche
Deputy Attorney General of the United States
Pam Bondi
U.S. Attorney General
Breonna Taylor
Victim of 2020 Louisville no-knock police raid
Merrick Garland
Former U.S. Attorney General (Biden administration)
Donald Trump
President of the United States
Former DOJ career prosecutors (unnamed)
Former federal prosecutors who analyzed the new no-knock standard
Families of Breonna Taylor
Civil rights advocates who pushed for no-knock reform
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act advocates
Congressional advocates for codified no-knock standards
What you can do
1
civic action
Contact your representative to support federal no-knock reform legislation
The DOJ can reverse its own policy by memo, but Congress can pass a law requiring warrant standards that agencies can't unilaterally rescind. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act included a federal no-knock warrant ban. Constituent pressure can revive that conversation.
Hello, I am [NAME], a constituent from [CITY/STATE]. I'm calling about the DOJ's reversal of the no-knock warrant policy.
Key concerns:
- Deputy AG Todd Blanche rescinded the Biden no-knock policy on March 3, 2026, replacing the 'imminent danger' standard with a broad 'risk of evidence destruction' standard
- Legal experts say the new standard could justify a no-knock entry in nearly any search
- The prior policy was enacted after the 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor, who died in a no-knock raid that found no drugs
Questions to ask:
- Will Representative [NAME] support legislation codifying no-knock warrant requirements in federal law so they can't be rescinded by memo?
- Does Representative [NAME] believe the 'risk of evidence destruction' standard provides sufficient protection against dangerous unannounced police entries?
Specific request: I am asking Representative [NAME] to co-sponsor or support a bill requiring judicial approval and 'imminent danger' findings before any federal agency may execute a no-knock entry.
Question: What is Representative [NAME]'s position on federal no-knock warrant standards?
Thank you.
2
research
Review the Hatch Act rules governing DOJ political appointees
The Office of Special Counsel enforces the Hatch Act, which limits political activity by federal employees. Understanding the gap between what the Hatch Act requires and what Garland's additional restrictions prohibited helps citizens understand what changed — and why the DOJ's own self-imposed ethics standards matter separately from the law.
3
research
Track DOJ policy memos through the DOJ's attorney general memoranda library
The DOJ publishes its attorney general and deputy attorney general policy memos publicly. Tracking which memos have been issued, revised, or rescinded gives citizens a real-time view of how the department's operating policies are changing — without waiting for legislation or court rulings.