Photo: APK / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Brett Shumate, the assistant attorney general who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Division, has resigned, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Monday morning, and said he accepted the resignation. The announcement came at about 10 a.m. Eastern. No reason for the departure and no successor have been announced.
The photograph shows the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington. It is an archival photo from March 2026.
Shumate is the latest Senate-confirmed Justice Department leader to step down in the days since last week’s midterm elections. The department’s Eisenberg resigned on Friday, also as announced by Blanche.
The Civil Division defends federal government policies and agencies in court and handles many of the government’s major lawsuits. Its leader oversees that litigation, so a change at the top can affect how and by whom those cases are run.
Why it matters: the division is at the center of many of the legal fights over the administration’s policies, and the departures are coming as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress. Still unknown: why Shumate is leaving, when he will leave, who will lead the division in the meantime, and whether more departures are planned. This report will be updated as the department releases details.
JBizNews Desk | Washington, D.C.
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