DOJ Civil Rights Division Lost 75% of Lawyers, Dropped Police Reform and Discrimination Cases, HRW Reports

A Human Rights Watch report released August 13, 2026, found the DOJ Civil Rights Division lost three-quarters of its lawyers by early 2026. The division dropped police reform consent decrees with Louisville and Minneapolis and halted, dismissed, or reversed its position in nearly 70 discrimination cases nationally. HRW called it a coordinated gutting of federal civil rights enforcement. The 112-page report drew on former officials and court records.