Upheaval strikes the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division as more than 100 attorneys resign following the announcement of new priorities under President Trump's administration.
According to ABC News, newly confirmed DOJ Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon revealed the substantial exodus of attorneys occurred after the division communicated its shifting focus away from voting rights and police reform toward culture war priorities championed by President Trump.
The dramatic transformation of the historic division, established during the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s, reflects the administration's commitment to redirect resources toward investigating anti-Christian bias, challenging transgender athlete participation in women's sports, and withdrawing from previous voting rights litigation.
Dhillon's appointment as Assistant Attorney General marks a significant departure from Biden-era policies. The division's new leadership, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, has outlined plans to pursue legal action against states permitting transgender athletes in women's sports.
The administration has already begun implementing these changes by withdrawing from a Biden-era lawsuit challenging Georgia's voting laws. Additionally, a new task force has been established to investigate claims of anti-Christian discrimination.
Dhillon, speaking to conservative host Glenn Beck, expressed her perspective on the mass departures, stating:
What we have made very clear last week in memos to each of the 11 sections in the Civil Rights Division is that our priorities under President Trump are going to be somewhat different than they were under President Biden. And then we tell them, these are the President's priorities, this is what we will be focusing on — you know, govern yourself accordingly. And en masse, dozens and now over 100 attorneys decided that they'd rather not do what their job requires them to do.
Democratic lawmakers have responded to the division's transformation with concern. A group of top Democrats sent a letter to DOJ leadership and Inspector General Michael Horowitz expressing alarm over what they view as politicization of the civil rights division.
The mass resignations have created significant staffing challenges for the division. Dhillon acknowledged the need to recruit new attorneys to pursue the administration's priorities, particularly regarding actions targeting Harvard University.
Dhillon addressed the staffing situation in stark terms:
We don't want people in the federal government who feel like it's their pet project to go persecute, you know, police departments based on statistical evidence or persecute people praying outside abortion facilities instead of doing violence. That's not the job here. The job here is to enforce the federal civil rights laws, not woke ideology.
The Civil Rights Division faces a critical transition period as it works to rebuild its staff. Dhillon has emphasized the need for additional lawyers and investigators to implement the administration's new agenda effectively.
The division's transformation reflects broader changes in federal civil rights enforcement under President Trump's leadership. The focus has shifted from traditional civil rights concerns to addressing conservative cultural priorities.
The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division experienced an unprecedented departure of over 100 attorneys following Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon's announcement of new priorities aligned with President Trump's agenda.
The division's dramatic shift away from voting rights and police reform enforcement toward investigating anti-Christian bias and challenging transgender athlete participation marks a significant transformation in federal civil rights policy. As the administration works to rebuild the division's staff, the impact of these changes on civil rights enforcement remains a subject of intense debate between Republican leadership and Democratic lawmakers.
