Justice Department’s storied Civil Rights Division will fight DEI under Trump

President-elect Donald Trump’s Justice Department is preparing to go on the anti-“woke” offensive against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have been a cause célèbre of the right, two sources familiar with the incoming administration’s plans told CNN.

President-elect Donald Trump’s Justice Department is preparing to go on the anti-“woke” offensive against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have been a cause célèbre of the right, two sources familiar with the incoming administration’s plans told CNN. Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department’s storied Civil Rights Division – conservative San Francisco attorney Harmeet Dhillon – is expected to use the powerful perch to reverse many of the Biden administration’s civil rights initiatives. If confirmed, Dhillon would be in a position to upend the division’s work on a range of hot-button areas, including transgender rights, voting and policing. In particular, the division is expected to try to dismantle DEI policies at schools, government agencies and other public institutions, according to the sources familiar with the planning. In announcing Dhillon as his choice earlier this week, Trump specifically touted her work “suing corporations who use woke policies to discriminate against their workers.” A longtime litigator, including for Trump, she’s also been involved in a host of First Amendment lawsuits, disputes over Covid-19 restrictions and cases concerning gender-affirming care. Decisions by schools and employers to embrace DEI initiatives have come under fierce opposition from the right in recent years. Critics say DEI programs are discriminatory and attempt to solve racial discrimination by disadvantaging other groups, particularly White Americans. But supporters insist the decades-old practice has been politicized and widely misunderstood. Justin Levitt, who served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division under President Barack Obama, said the incoming administration is likely to turn the division away from efforts to end discrimination against minority groups and move toward ending policies aimed at helping them.