6 hours ago 2

Democratic senators question US Justice Department on civil rights changes

By Dan Levine and Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seven Democratic senators are asking the U.S. Justice Department for information about changes to its civil rights division made by President Donald Trump's administration including reassigning several career officials who had held leadership positions.

The senators, all members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter dated on Friday to top Justice Department officials citing several recent moves that the lawmakers said appeared to change the division's enforcement objectives.

"Taken together, these measures appear to be an attempt to cajole career officials at the division to leave voluntarily in order to fundamentally transform its work," the senators wrote, asking for an accounting of all personnel changes that have occurred in the division since Trump returned to office in January.

The senators signing the letter were Dick Durbin, Peter Welch, Mazie Hirono, Sheldon Whitehouse, Adam Schiff, Cory Booker and Alex Padilla.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Founded in 1957 following the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the division initially focused on protecting the voting rights of Black Americans. Over the following decades, Congress expanded its responsibilities to include protecting Americans from discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, gender identity and other characteristics.

Since Trump began his second term as president and appointed Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general, the division has paused investigations of alleged police abuse and launched its first investigation into whether Los Angeles violated gun rights laws. Following Trump's lead, the department also changed its stance on transgender rights and investigated alleged antisemitism at U.S. colleges involving pro-Palestinian protesters.

The Justice Department last week took steps to reassign about a dozen senior career attorneys from the unit, including those who managed offices that investigate local police and handled violations of voting and disability rights.

"The division relies on the abilities and knowledge of its career staff to carry out the great responsibility of enforcing the nation's civil rights laws without regard to politics," the senators wrote.