WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, sent his colleagues a memorandum with the new policy statements provided to career attorneys at the Civil Rights Division, which have not been made public.
The policy statements, transmitted to nine of the eleven sections of the Civil Rights Division by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, largely replace long-standing enforcement priorities with President Trump’s executive orders and political priorities. 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 directives in the memo have not been shared publicly by DOJ, which refused to provide them in response to a request by Senator Welch along with Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin, and Senators Hirono, Whitehouse, Schiff, Booker, and Padilla.
This afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution will hold a hearing on the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, with witnesses Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, plus Gene Hamilton, President, America First Legal, and Alabama State Senator Robert Stewart. State Senator Stewart represents Lowndes County, Alabama, where the Civil Rights Division recently withdrew from a settlement following an 18-month investigation which found that officials’ enforcement of sanitation laws threatened Lowndes County residents, who are largely rural and Black.
Read the Executive Summary from Senator Welch’s memo below:
“The new information contained in this memorandum demonstrates the extent to which the longstanding enforcement objectives of each of the Division’s sections have been narrowed, changed, and in some cases reversed under AAG Dhillon’s leadership to mirror and advance President Trump’s political agenda. As stated in multiple of the new policy directives:
The zealous and faithful pursuit of this section’s mission requires dedication of the section’s resources, actions, attention, and energy to the priorities and objectives of the President.
“Created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957, Congress charged the Civil Rights Division with enforcing federal statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status, national origin, and citizenship status. The Division is meant to prohibit discrimination in education, protect voting rights, prevent discrimination by federal funding recipients, investigate illegal bias in housing, and defend the rights of those with disabilities. It is common for the Division’s priorities to shift across presidential administrations, but the Division’s civil rights enforcement has always rested on this nonpartisan foundation.
“The new policy statements are woven together by a common thread—rather than prioritizing the enforcement of federal civil rights laws, career attorneys have been explicitly directed to faithfully and zealously dedicate their efforts to the “priorities and objectives of the President.” Most of the policy statements directly cite the President’s executive orders. Nearly half of the policy statements reference social issues President Trump has campaigned on, such as prohibiting gender-affirming care and preventing the “radical indoctrination” of elementary school students. Some policy statements fail to mention basic statutes the Division is tasked with enforcing.
“Also under AAG Dhillon’s leadership, career Division attorneys have been reassigned and pressured to resign. Since January 2025, more than 368 individuals have left the Division and only two Section Chiefs remain in place. There is no precedent, in the history of the Civil Rights Division, for dismantling the Division on this scale. AAG Dhillon has described her objective in leading the Division as “turning the train around and driving in the opposite direction[.]” She has done just that.”
Read and download the full memo here.
Senator Welch and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) led their colleagues on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution in demanding answers from DOJ concerning the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department’s Civil Rights Division. The lawmakers expressed deep concerns about several directives issued by the Trump Administration that could jeopardize the Division’s work to enforce and protect the Constitutional and statutory civil rights of the American people.
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