The head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Brett Shumate, submitted his resignation Monday, becoming the latest in a growing number of Senate-confirmed DOJ leaders to step down in a post-midterms shakeup of the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Shumate’s resignation in a social media post that highlighted a series of civil litigation priorities during the first two years of the Trump administration.
“Under his leadership, the Division pursued important affirmative litigation to challenge sanctuary policies and delivered key wins in lawsuits against local policies that endangered federal law enforcement,” Blanche wrote. “The Division also secured historic settlements to end illegal corporate DEI practices and shuttered dozens of clinics which were providing so-called ‘gender affirming care’ to minors.”
Shumate is the fourth top official to resign since last week’s midterm elections, following the departure of Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon, South Florida U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quinones and National Security Division head John Eisenberg.
A seal for the Department of Justice is seen on a podium at the Department of Justice Building on March 21, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, FILE
It was not immediately clear of the Trump administration planned to push for permanent replacements for the positions before Republicans lose Senate control in January.
Shumate’s division is instrumental in litigating on behalf of the administration and defending its policies from civil lawsuits, but in the past year it has found itself aggressively seeking new recruits after seeing a similar exodus of top attorneys at other divisions across the Justice Department.
