Trump’s DOJ Purge: 70% of Civil Rights Lawyers Quit
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is experiencing a mass exodus of approximately 70% of its lawyers, totaling around 250 attorneys, since President Trump’s inauguration. This dramatic shift stems from the administration’s redirection of the division’s focus from its traditional mission of combating discrimination to enforcing Trump’s executive orders, including those targeting perceived “radical indoctrination” in schools and “gender ideology extremism.” The changes, overseen by the new division head Harmeet Dhillon, have led to the dropping of numerous cases and a widespread feeling among remaining staff that the division is being weaponized against the very populations it was created to protect. This unprecedented level of departures contrasts sharply with the first Trump administration, where such a mass exodus did not occur.
John Q. Hosedrinker