Trump DOJ changes to civil rights division spark mass exodus of attorneys
Source: NPR
May 19, 2025 5:00 AM ET
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is in upheaval amid a mass exodus of attorneys as the Trump administration moves to radically reshape the division, shelving its traditional mission and replacing it with one focused on enforcing the president's executive orders.
Some 250 attorneys — or around 70% of the division's lawyers — have left or will have left the department in the time between President Trump's inauguration and the end of May, according to current and former officials.
It marks a dramatic turn for the storied division, which was created during the civil rights movement and the push to end racial segregation. For almost 70 years, it has sought to combat discrimination and to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans in everything from voting and housing to employment, education and policing.
Now, the administration is redirecting the division to enforce the President Trump's executive orders, including ending the alleged radical indoctrination in schools, defending women from "gender ideology extremism," and combatting antisemitism and purported anti-Christian bias. Five current or former department officials, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, say the current effort amounts to the dismantling of the division and its traditional mission.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/05/19/g-s1-66906/trump-civil-rights-justice-exodus
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