Brett Shumate resigns as Justice Department civil chief

Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Monday that Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate had resigned as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, which handles the department’s civil litigation. Blanche said he had accepted Shumate’s resignation, but neither he nor the reports provided a reason for Shumate’s departure.

In a post on X, Blanche praised the division’s work challenging sanctuary policies and pursuing lawsuits against local policies he said endangered federal law enforcement. He also credited it with settlements involving corporate diversity, equity and inclusion practices and with shuttering clinics providing gender-affirming care to minors. Those descriptions were Blanche’s account of the division’s work.

Shumate’s resignation follows the departures of three other senior Justice Department officials announced the previous week: Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who led the Civil Rights Division; Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg, who led the National Security Division; and Jason Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Blanche announced Eisenberg’s and Quiñones’ resignations Friday. Dhillon’s resignation was...