Fourth Justice Department Official Departs in a Week of Upheaval
WHO:
Talking Points Memo - Attorney General Todd Blanche briefly thought the nickname “Eisenblock,” used behind John Eisenberg’s back, was Eisenberg’s actual surname before continuing to use it, Bloomberg reported.
Talking Points Memo - Aakash Singh, a top deputy to Blanche, was already overseeing many of the Miami U.S. Attorney’s Office’s most sensitive investigations, the New York Times reported.
Talking Points Memo - Jessie K. Liu previously served as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and held senior roles at the Justice Department and Treasury Department.
Talking Points Memo - Stan Woodward, a senior Justice Department official, is among the attorneys to be examined in Liu’s investigation.
WTNH - Brett Shumate, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division, resigned.
ABC News - Brett Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, submitted his resignation.
Alternet - Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that he accepted Shumate’s resignation.
Alternet - Shumate previously served in the Justice Department during Trump’s first term.
Alternet - Other departing senior officials named were Harmeet Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division, John Eisenberg of National Security, and U.S. attorney Jason Reding Quiñones.
Truthout - Harmeet Dhillon led the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
WHAT:
Talking Points Memo - President Trump threatened Democratic members of the incoming congressional majority with imprisonment and called their oversight and impeachment plans “extortion” in two Truth Social posts.
Talking Points Memo - The Justice Department considered naming The New York Times as an indicted co-conspirator in its third prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey. The department reportedly sought to connect a 2016 article to later coverage to address a statute-of-limitations problem.
Talking Points Memo - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the disbarment of lawyer Larry Klayman, maintaining a two-year suspension imposed by the Florida Supreme Court.
Alternet - The Florida Supreme Court found that Klayman committed “a pattern of misconduct,” engaged in “bad faith obstruction of disciplinary proceedings,” and submitted false evidence.
Talking Points Memo - U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes said she intends to appoint former D.C. U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu as a special master to investigate whether Justice Department or Interior Department lawyers committed ethical violations in a lawsuit over Trump’s renovation of East Potomac Golf Course.
Talking Points Memo - Liu’s investigation will cover conduct through Oct. 31; Reyes gave the parties until Friday to object to Liu’s appointment, which would be at the government’s expense.
Talking Points Memo - Reyes cited allegedly misleading or false statements in court and extensive tree cutting at the golf course as reasons for her concern.
Talking Points Memo - President Trump called Democrats’ oversight and impeachment threats “extortion” and ordered the Justice Department to investigate them.
Talking Points Memo - The Justice Department dismissed its lawsuit seeking to make California officials segregate and exclude mail-in ballots associated with a list of 20,000 alleged noncitizens.
WTNH - Shumate became the fourth Justice Department official to resign within a week.
ABC News - Shumate’s resignation was the latest in a Justice Department leadership shakeup following the midterms.
Alternet - Blanche said the Civil Division pursued lawsuits challenging sanctuary policies, won cases against local policies he said endangered federal law enforcement, secured settlements against corporate DEI practices, and closed dozens of clinics providing what his statement called “so-called ‘gender affirming care’ to minors.”
Alternet - Shumate’s division pursued local governments over immigration policies, healthcare clinics serving transgender minors, and corporate diversity programs, Reuters reported.
Alternet - Shumate defended Trump’s effort to strip naturalized immigrants of citizenship and the administration’s proposal to give the U.S. Postal Service a role overseeing mail-in ballots, NBC News reported.
Alternet - The Justice Department targeted 40 naturalized Americans in a denaturalization effort Blanche described as the “largest denaturalization effort in modern history.” Shumate said, “Every single one of these individuals lied their way into U.S. citizenship,” according to The New Republic.
Alternet - Shumate was involved in allowing planes carrying alleged Tren de Aragua members to land in El Salvador despite a judge’s order.
Alternet - The Civil Division’s staffing had declined, and it offered signing bonuses of up to $25,000.
Truthout - The Civil Rights Division ignored dozens of cases and moved noticeably to the right.
Alternet - Democrats planned to take over Congress and investigate Trump and his administration.
WHERE:
Alternet - Planes carrying alleged Tren de Aragua members landed in El Salvador.
WHEN:
WTNH - Shumate resigned Monday, within the week following the midterms.
Alternet - The department’s denaturalization action occurred last month; the article also said the flights to El Salvador occurred last year.
Alternet - Democrats were expected to take over Congress in January.
WHY:
Alternet - The reason Shumate resigned was unclear.
Alternet - The departures followed midterm elections in which the GOP suffered what the article described as “huge losses.”
HOW:
Talking Points Memo - Justice Department officials delayed Harmeet Dhillon’s departure until after the election, allowing her to resign after President Trump sought to have her fired following her “60 Minutes” appearance, CBS News reported.
(UPDATED November 9, 2026 23:00 UTC)
A judge plans an investigation into alleged government misconduct over Trump’s golf course renovation. Justice Department leaders are leaving, including Civil Division chief Brett Shumate. Trump threatened Democrats over planned oversight and ordered an investigation.
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(UPDATED November 9, 2026 22:03 UTC)
A judge plans to appoint Jessie Liu to investigate possible ethical violations by government lawyers. The inquiry follows concerns about court statements and tree cutting at Trump’s golf course. Justice Department Civil Division chief Brett Shumate resigned amid senior departures.
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(UPDATED November 9, 2026 21:07 UTC)
Justice Department Civil Division chief Brett Shumate resigned, the fourth official to leave within a week. Attorney General Todd Blanche accepted his resignation amid a leadership shakeup. Shumate’s division pursued lawsuits over immigration policies, clinics, and corporate diversity programs.