The Justice Department has put a freeze on civil rights litigation and indicated it could rethink numerous police reform agreements with local departments that were negotiated under the Biden administration.
The memos, reviewed by The Hill and issued after President Trump took office on Monday, leaves in doubt the bulk of the work of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which enforces laws prohibiting discrimination.
The two memos, sent by chief of staff Chad Mizelle, told attorneys in the Civil Rights Division not to file any new complaints or briefs “until further notice.”
One of the memos asked attorneys to inform leadership of any consent decrees finalized in the last 90 days. That primarily affects deals negotiated by the Justice Department and various police departments to spark reform.
It said the Justice Department “may wish to reconsider” those agreements.
“The memo furthers the Department’s goal to speak with one voice in pursuing the administration’s priorities,” a DOJ official said.
The move comes as the Justice Department has been pushing to finalize deals with police departments in Louisville, Ky., and Minneapolis, Minn., following accusations of excessive use of force.
Review of both departments were ignited after the 2020 shootings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Officials in both cities had agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department but the consent decrees had yet to be approved by a judge.
They were among a dozen investigations into local police departments launched under the Biden administration.
The Minneapolis deal would require the department to focus on ending racially discriminatory policing and discrimination against those with disabilities. It further calls on police to avoid using handcuffs on children younger than 14 and restricts certain police tactics during protests.
The Louisville agreement similarly came after DOJ found police there had engaged in a pattern of violating constitutional rights and discrimination against the Black community.
