Brett Shumate resigned on Monday as the top lawyer in the Justice Department’s Civil Division, marking the fourth departure of a high-ranking DOJ official in the week following the midterm elections, CBS News reported.
Attorney General Todd Blanche praised Shumate on X for pursuing affirmative litigation to challenge sanctuary policies and delivering key wins against local policies that endangered federal law enforcement. Lawyers in the Civil Division were taken by surprise by the abrupt departure, which was effective immediately, according to sources cited by CBS News.
Today I accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Civil Division. Under his leadership, the Division pursued important affirmative litigation to challenge sanctuary policies and delivered key wins in lawsuits against local policies that…
“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,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
Shumate’s resignation leaves a division that has struggled to keep pace as it defends the federal government in a flurry of lawsuits since President Trump took office. The Commercial Litigation Branch saw its caseload jump 84 percent, the most of any branch, handling suits from fired federal workers and other matters, The Hill reported.
Under Shumate’s leadership, the division fought to defend the firings of career civil servants, aggressive mass deportation policies, and controversial renovation projects directed by the president reported. The Hill noted that the office also sued universities offering in-state tuition for undocumented citizens and defended restrictions on mail-in voting.
One source familiar with the matter told CBS News that Stephen Miller, recently named White House chief of staff, had been critical of Shumate in the past and believed he was not aggressive enough, which factored into the resignation. CNN reported that the turnover has been driven partly by officials returning to private law firm jobs while the administration has two years remaining.
Last week, Assistant Attorneys General Harmeet Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division and John Eisenberg of the National Security Division also departed, alongside U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones in the Southern District of Florida, according to CBS News and The Hill.
- 4.6% Wage Increase and AI Survey Results for OPEIU Members
- Kristallnacht Commemoration: Rabbi Warns of Rising Antisemitism and Modern “Blood Libels
- Miller's Chief of Staff Job Needs No Senate Vote; Three DOJ Seats Do (daybreakwire.com)
- Vladimir Malinov Resigns as Chairman of Gas Hub Balkan (archyde.com)