President Donald Trump’s new administration has ordered a halt on civil rights litigation, instructing a freeze on all new cases or investigations. Additionally, the Justice Department leadership indicated a potential review of Biden administration police reform policies.
A memo was sent by the chief of staff to the attorney general Wednesday (January 22).
The letter outlined the changes, instructing leaders in the department’s Civil Rights Division to ensure attorneys do not file “any new complaints, motions to intervene, agreed-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest,” according to multiple reports.
A second memo ordered attorneys to inform leadership about settlements or consent decrees finalized by the Biden administration in the last 90 days.
The administration may reconsider recent consent decrees, including those in Louisville and Minneapolis.
These consent decrees, which address reform, followed investigations uncovering police civil rights violations.
Earlier this month, the Minneapolis City Council approved an agreement to revamp the city’s police training and use-of-force policies following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
Last month, the Justice Department announced a similar agreement with Louisville to reform its police force after an investigation triggered by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020.
The Biden administration finalized these agreements within the last 90 days. The decrees still require judicial approval.
The duration of the civil rights litigation freeze is uncertain but signals a troubling shift in civil rights priorities under Donald Trump’s administration.
Meanwhile civil right leaders gathered in Washington Wednesday to oppose Trump’s executive orders rolling back DEI programs.