Trump Justice Department adds firing squads for federal executions

The Trump Justice Department said on Friday it was seeking to expand the use of the death penalty in federal capital cases and add the firing squad, electrocution and gas to lethal injection as methods of execution.

“The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

Under US President Donald Trump, “the Department of Justice is once again enforcing the law and standing with victims”, Blanche said in a statement.

The Republican president ended a 17-year pause in federal executions in 2020, during his first term in office.

There were 13 executions by lethal injection during Trump’s final six months in power, more than under any US leader in 120 years.

Before leaving the White House in January 2025, Democratic president Joe Biden, an opponent of the death penalty, commuted the death sentences of 37 of the 40 inmates on federal death row.