He didn’t retire. He detonated. A Reagan-appointed judge just walked away from a lifetime seat, and his resignation letter reads less like goodbye and more like a flare fired into a darkening sky. He says Trump is crossing lines that once felt sacred, turning justice into a loyalty test and forcing judges to choose between conscience .
He gave up what almost no federal judge ever does: the safety of life tenure. Mark Wolf’s resignation was not a graceful exit from public service; it was a deliberate act of protest. By stepping down, he shattered the illusion that the judiciary is safely insulated from raw political pressure. His warning wasn’t about one man’s ego. It was about a system that now punishes independence and rewards obedience.