By Steve Neavling
The Justice Department’s civil rights division is facing an exodus of attorneys and staff as Trump administration officials shift its focus away from traditional civil rights enforcement toward more aggressive actions against liberal cities, Ivy League schools, and student protesters.
More than 100 lawyers are expected to leave under a “deferred resignation program” that allows them to resign while continuing to be paid for a limited time, The New York Times reports. Combined with earlier departures, the mass resignations would cut the division’s staff by more than half, according to current and former officials.
“Now, over 100 attorneys decided that they’d rather not do what their job requires them to do, and I think that’s fine,” Harmeet K. Dhillon, the new head of the division, said in an interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck. “We don’t want people in the federal government who feel like it’s their pet project to go persecute police departments. The job here is to enforce the federal civil rights laws, not woke ideology.”
Traditionally, the division has protected the constitutional rights of marginalized communities, including investigating police misconduct, enforcing voting rights, and fighting housing discrimination. But current and former lawyers say the administration’s actions go beyond a routine shift in priorities, fundamentally changing the division’s mission.
“This is not simply a change in enforcement priorities — the division has been turned on its head and is now being used as a weapon against the very communities it was established to protect,” said Vanita Gupta, who led the division during the Obama administration.
When Trump took office, the division had about 380 lawyers. With the latest resignations, officials estimate the number could fall to around 140. The support staff has also been sharply reduced.
Adding to the turmoil, political appointees have reassigned many of the remaining career managers, creating what staff describe as daily chaos over supervision and responsibilities.
The administration introduced new mission statements this month that many longtime lawyers say have stripped away key civil rights protections the division once championed.
“With the reckless dismantling of the division, we’ll see unchecked discrimination and constitutional violations in schools, housing, employment, voting, prisons, by police departments and in many other realms of our daily lives,” said Stacey Young, a former division lawyer and now executive director of Justice Connection.
