WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Raking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on The Constitution, this week denounced the President Trump’s attacks on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division, including the Administration’s plans to freeze all new civil rights cases or investigations at the division.
Ahead of yesterday’s hearing, Senator Welch released a memorandum with the new policy statements provided to career attorneys at the Civil Rights Division. These directives, which have not previously been made public, show how the Division’s enforcement priorities have been narrowed, changed, and in some cases reversed under the leadership of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, to mirror and advance President Trump’s political agenda. The memo also sheds light on Assistant Attorney General Dhillon’s efforts to oust career attorneys through reassignments and resignations. Senator Welch’s office obtained data showing that since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, more than 368 individuals have left the Civil Rights Division and only two Section chiefs remain in place.
“The Civil Rights Division is a crown jewel in the Department of Justice of the United States of America,” said Senator Welch. “But there’s a profound difference in the Justice Department today than there was the day before the election. The new policy directives that are being issued to DOJ attorneys is the zealous and faithful pursuit of, ‘The priorities of the President.’ No! It’s the priorities of the Constitution. It’s the priorities of the legislation passed by Congress. It is not the priorities of any person, even if that person is the President of the United States. That is not what the job of the Justice Department is to do.”
Watch Senator Welch’s full remarks below:
Read Senator Welch’s opening remarks as delivered here.
Senator Welch questioned Ms. Dhillon about whether the Trump Administration influenced the DOJ’s highly irregular decision to order mid-decade redistricting of Texas’ congressional districts. The Senator also called out Ms. Dhillon for her refusal to acknowledge that President Biden won the 2020 Presidential Election.
Read key excerpts from Senator Welch’s exchange with Ms. Dhillon:
“As you know, President Trump has recently ‘encouraged’—I’ll use that—Texas Republicans to do mid-cycle redistricting in order to gain more seats in the House of Representatives. I understand that after the President made that decision, or that announcement, you personally sent a letter on July 7 to Texas—in your capacity as Assistant Attorney General—arguing that four Democratic districts violate federal law,” said Senator Welch. “Before you sent the letter on July 7, did you have any conversation with any representatives of the White House?”
Ms. Dhillon: “Senator, as you’re aware, there are privileges that are involved in all Executive Branch communications and without—I’m not able to testify without breaching the Department of Justice’s guidelines in that regard. So, I’m unable to answer any questions about conversations I may have had with other Executive Branch officials.”
Senator Welch: “I’m not asking you what the content of the conversation was. I’m asking whether there was any conversation with anyone from the White House before you sent that July 7 letter.”
Ms. Dhillon: “Senator, I have the same answer. I think you’re aware of the scope, the broad scope of privileges that apply to lawyers’ conduct.”
Senator Welch: “Well, here’s what I’m aware of: the President made a directive—which is highly unusual—telling a legislature, the Texas legislature, mid-decade to do redistricting when we do that every ten years. And oh, it just so happened the Assistant Attorney General sent a letter to that legislature—after the President made his announcement—and said that your investigations suggest four districts are in violation of federal law.”
Ms. Dhillon: “Is there a question, Senator?”
Senator Welch: “There’s a point here that it’s hard to believe that that wasn’t coordinated.”
Senator Welch has been a leading voice in pushing back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on the rule of law and efforts to undermine the Department of Justice. In April, Senator Welch led six Senate Judiciary Committee colleagues in demanding answers from the DOJ concerning the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department’s Civil Rights Division. The Senators separately called for Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, to immediately hold an oversight hearing with Assistant Attorney General Dhillon on the politicization of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
During President Trump’s first week in office, Senator Welch slammed the President’s plans to freeze all new civil rights cases or investigations at DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and suggestions that it would sideline police reform agreements established by the Biden Administration.
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