Senate Democrats question DOJ civil rights division shakeup
Source: The Hill
04/28/25 4:03 PM ET
A group of seven Democratic senators are questioning the Department of Justice (DOJ) over its shakeup to its Civil Rights Division, including policy changes and new staff arrangements. The senators, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter on Friday to DOJ officials requesting information about the department’s Civil Rights Division.
“According to public reporting, at least five of the Division’s sections have received directives via email to employees which change long-standing Division enforcement objectives,” the senators wrote. “The five sections are meant to protect voting rights, prevent discrimination by federal funding recipients, investigate illegal bias in housing, prohibit discrimination in education, and defend the rights of those with disabilities.”
The letter was signed by Democrats Sens. Peter Welch (Vt.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Cory Booker (N.J.), Alex Padilla (Calif.) and Adam Schiff (Calif.).
Their letter comes after the Trump administration changed staff and undertook several policy changes at the Civil Rights Division. Roughly a dozen career leaders were removed from their positions, some pushed into unrelated roles with many resigning and leaving some areas without leadership.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5271482-justice-department-civil-rights/
Link to LETTER (PDF) - https://www.welch.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Welch-DOJ-Civil-Rights-Division-Oversight-Request.pdf
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