Trump is reversing the Justice Department's civil rights policies
Trump is reversing the Civil Rights Division's positions on major legal issues, including voting rights, abortion rights and DEI initiatives.
Donald Trump kicked off his second presidential term with dozens of executive orders, many of which focus on hot-button culture war issues, from transgender and abortion rights to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The job of enforcing the administration’s position on those issues will largely fall to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
During past handovers between Democratic and Republican administrations, the Civil Rights Division has undergone major policy shifts. During the George W. Bush administration, for example, the division focused resources on fighting religious discrimination. After Barack Obama took office, the division prioritized preventing racial and ethnic discrimination.
The scale of the expected civil rights policy changes between the Biden and Trump administrations may eclipse those of past transitions.
Former Justice Department officials and advocates told NBC News they expect the new administration to swiftly carry out sweeping reversals of most major Biden administration civil rights policies. Already, the Trump-run department has issued a memo freezing all action in civil rights cases, including filings and settlements, and withdrawn from multiple cases filed during the Biden administration.
As it has in other parts of the Justice Department, the Trump administration has made personnel changes in the Civil Rights Division. The top two officials in its appellate section have been reassigned to a new task force that will prosecute officials from sanctuary cities who do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts, according to a DOJ official familiar with the matter.
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