Attorney General Todd Blanche announced another senior Justice Department resignation Monday, extending a wave of departures following Republicans’ bruising midterm losses.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, who led the department’s Civil Division and defended key pieces of President Donald Trump’s agenda in court, has stepped down, Blanche announced on X.
His exit follows those of Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon, National Security Division chief John Eisenberg and South Florida U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones.
The departures come as the administration prepares for Democrats to take control of both chambers of Congress and pursue investigations into the Justice Department’s work.
Blanche praised Shumate’s leadership, highlighting the division’s legal challenges to sanctuary policies and its efforts against corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
He credited the division with securing “historic settlements to end illegal corporate DEI practices and shuttered dozens of clinics which were providing so-called ‘gender affirming care’ to minors.”
“We are grateful for Brett’s service at DOJ and wish him continued success,” Blanche said.
Shumate’s division handled legal battles over the administration’s denaturalization efforts and policies involving transgender issues.
He also defended the administration in the court fight over deportation flights that carried alleged Tren de Aragua gang members to El Salvador in March 2025.
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U.S. District Judge James Boasberg had ordered the planes turned around. The administration disputed that it violated his orders, and Shumate later argued against allowing the judge’s contempt investigation to proceed.
The latest resignation follows a rapid succession of departures from other prominent Justice Department posts.
Dhillon’s resignation was announced Thursday. During her tenure, the longtime Trump ally emphasized challenges to DEI programs, investigations into campus antisemitism, gun rights and election enforcement.
Her departure plans predated the Republican losses. Dhillon said she submitted her resignation in October and remained through the election at the White House’s request.
Blanche announced Eisenberg’s and Reding Quiñones’ resignations Friday.
Eisenberg headed the National Security Division, which oversees cases involving terrorism, espionage and other national security threats.
Reding Quiñones led the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida, which oversaw an investigation into whether intelligence officials and other government figures conspired to violate Trump’s civil rights dating to his 2016 campaign.
A Justice Department spokesperson told USA Today after Friday’s departures that the agency remained focused on enforcing the law, fighting crime and protecting Americans.
