Civil Division Chief Shumate Becomes Fourth Top DOJ Official to Quit Since Midterms
Brett Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, resigned Monday, becoming the fourth senior DOJ official to step down since last week’s midterm elections.
Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the resignation on X. “Today I accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Civil Division,” Blanche wrote, Anadolu Agency reported. “We are grateful for Brett’s service at DOJ and wish him continued success.”
Blanche did not give a reason for the departure or name a successor, according to Anadolu.
Blanche credited Shumate’s division with challenging sanctuary policies and winning “key wins in lawsuits against local policies that endangered federal law enforcement,” ABC News reported.
“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,” Blanche wrote.
Shumate follows Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon, National Security Division head John Eisenberg and South Florida U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones out the door, ABC said.
Shumate served at the department during Trump’s first term, The Independent reported. He also represented the administration in cases seeking to revoke citizenship from naturalized immigrants.
The Civil Division litigates on behalf of the administration and defends its policies against civil lawsuits. It has struggled with turnover, and The Independent said it recently offered signing bonuses of up to $25,000 to recruit attorneys.
It is not clear whether the administration will try to win Senate confirmation for permanent replacements before Republicans give up control of the chamber in January, according to ABC News.
Democrats won at least 54 Senate seats in the Nov. 3 midterms, giving them control of the Senate, and with it the confirmation process, when the new Congress convenes in January.
The exits come as Blanche trades warnings with incoming Democratic chairmen. On CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Blanche said the department “could” investigate Democratic lawmakers over their plans to probe the administration, CNBC reported.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the likely incoming House Oversight chairman, answered that “what Todd Blanche is doing right now is a threat,” according to CNBC.
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