The Department of Justice has instructed the civil rights division to freeze all new cases or investigations and indicated it would re-evaluate Biden administration policies in a memo sent on Wednesday – the latest shake-up in President Donald Trump’s takeover.
The letter, sent by the chief of staff to the attorney general, instructs the temporary head of the department to ensure civil rights attorneys do not file “any new complaints, motions to intervene, agreed-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest,” according to a screenshot viewed by The New York Times.
The freeze was requested so Trump appointees can decide if they want to “initiate any new cases” and ensure the government “speaks with one voice in its view of the law.”
A second memo was sent ordering the department to freeze activity involving consent decrees and notify the chief of staff of any finalized within the last 90 days. Those consent decrees are agreements between local governments and the DoJ to address police reform. Cities such as Minneapolis, Louisville and Memphis are part of it.
“The new administration may wish to reconsider settlements and consent decrees negotiated and approved during the prior administration,” the chief of staff wrote, according to the New York Times.
That could interfere with agreements reached with Louisville after the police killing of Breonna Taylor or in Minneapolis after the murder of George Floyd. Neither agreement has received final approval from a federal judge.
The Independent has asked the Department of Justice for comment.
The civil rights division of the DoJ often sees the most dramatic change in priorities between Republican and Democrat administrations.
Stacey Young, a trial attorney for the civil rights division told Politico in November that “many federal employees” are “terrified” that they will be replaced with Trump loyalists.
“We know that our democracy and country depend on a government supported by a merit-based, apolitical civil service,” Young said.
Trump has tapped Harmeet Dhillon, a conservative lawyer from California to lead the civil rights division. Dhillon has filed a series of lawsuits against gender-affirming healthcare and policies intended to protect LGBT+ people.
Dhillon is awaiting Senate confirmation.
Damon Hewitt, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law called the memos “beyond unusual” to The Washington Post.
“This should make Americans both angry and deeply worried,” Hewitt said. “This is more than just a changing course of philosophy — this is exactly what most people feared: a Justice Department that was created to protect civil rights literally abdicating its duty and responsibility to protect Americans from all forms of discrimination.”
