Fourth high-ranking US Justice Department resignation after midterm elections

The U.S. Department of Justice is facing its fourth high-profile exit following significant losses for President Donald Trump's Republicans in last week's midterm elections.

The head of the civil division, Brett Shumate, has resigned, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Platform X on Monday. The reasons for the move were initially unclear.

Other high-ranking officials have recently left the ministry. These include the head of the civil rights department, Harmeet Dhillon, and the head of the national security department, John Eisenberg. US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones also resigned. He had reviewed previous criminal investigations against Trump.

On X, Blanche praised the resigned Shumate. “Under his leadership, the department pursued important affirmative action lawsuits challenging sanctuary policies and achieved key victories in lawsuits challenging local policies that compromised federal law enforcement,” he wrote on the network. “The department has also enforced historic settlements to end illegal corporate DEI practices and closed dozens of clinics that provided so-called ‘gender reassignment care’ to minors.”

Shumate also worked at the Justice Department during Trump's first term. Under his leadership, the Civil Division cracked down on corporate and medical diversity initiatives targeting transgender minors. Local governments that did not support the government's tough immigration policy were also affected. Shumate also defended Trump's efforts to strip naturalized immigrants of their citizenship in court.

The civil division, like other areas of the ministry, has lost significant staffing since the president's re-election two years ago. This also applies to the unit that defends the government's policies in court. The department recently offered hiring bonuses of up to $25,000 under Shumate.