Senate democrats propose the Ministry of Justice’s Civil Rights Department

A panel of seven Democratic senators is asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) about its makeover of the civil rights department, including policy changes and new employee arrangements.

Senators, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, requested information about the department’s civil rights department in a letter Friday sent to Justice Department officials.

“According to the public report, at least five departments of the department received instructions via email to employees who changed their long-standing departmental law enforcement goals,” the senator wrote.

“These five sections are designed to protect the right to vote, prevent discrimination by federally funded recipients, investigate illegal bias in housing, prohibit discrimination in education, and defend the rights of people with disabilities.”

The letter was signed by Democrats Peter Welch (Vt.), Dick Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Mazie Hirono, Hawaii (Hawaii), Cory Booker (NJ), Alexander Padilla (California) and Adam Schiff (California).

Their letter comes after the Trump administration switched hands and made several policy changes in the civil rights department. About a dozen professional leaders have been removed from positions, some of whom have been removed from irrelevant roles, many resigned, and some areas have no leadership skills.

The adjustment comes weeks after President Trump’s Assistant Civil Rights Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon was sworn in.

In the letter, the senator pointed out that changes in the sector may be inconsistent with the goals Congress had when it formulated landmark civil rights legislation.

Legislators also alerted the department’s leadership to the lack of established officials, noting that employees have “changed similar patterns” across the Justice Department.

“The department relies on the competence and knowledge of its professional staff to enforce the enormous responsibility of national civil rights laws without regard for politics,” they wrote.

The senator noted that the driver reportedly received a second voluntary acquisition opportunity, “it seems to be an attempt to trick a professional official” from the Justice Department so that his job can be changed.

Members asked Justice Department officials to arrange a constitutional brief with the Senate Judicial Subcommittee to discuss changes in the coming days.

Additionally, Democrats called on Senator Eric Schimitt (R-MO.), chairman of the Constitutional Judiciary Committee, to conduct oversight hearings with Dhillon on the matter.

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