Trump administration guts civil rights enforcement, DOJ loses three-quarters of lawyers

Human Rights Watch released a report on Thursday stating that the Trump administration has significantly reduced federal civil rights enforcement by slashing staffing and altering policies at key agencies like the Department of Justice, Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division lost three-quarters of its lawyers, while other departments saw dramatic staff reductions and dismissals of discrimination cases. This “gutting” has left federal oversight of civil rights laws severely weakened.