Media Coverage: The Dismantling of CRS
Justice Department’s “Proposal” to Eliminate CRS
Justice Dept. Considers Merging Drug and Gun Agencies in Broader Reorganization | The New York Times • Mar. 27, 2025
US Justice Department considers merging DEA, ATF in major shakeup, memo says | Reuters • Mar. 27, 2025
Civil rights-era government agency in Justice Department to be purged | CBS News • Apr. 6, 2025
Reactions to the Planned Elimination of CRS
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is pressed to spare civil rights-era "peacemakers" program from closure | CBS News • May 7, 2025
Local Police Lament Dismantling of DOJ ‘Peacemakers’ Service | Bloomberg Law News • July 17, 2025
Embattled DOJ ‘Peacemakers’ Unit Preserved in Senate Proposal | Bloomberg Law News • July 18, 2025
Five Questions with Grande Lum, the Former Head of DOJ's Community Relations Service | Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance • Oct. 3, 2025
DOJ’s Dismantling of CRS Through “Deferred Resignation” and “Reduction-in-Force” Measures
Justice Department to Lose 4,500 Staffers to Buyout Offers | Bloomberg Law News • June 16, 2025
DOJ ‘Peacemakers’ Office to Get Shorter Notice on Staff Cuts | Bloomberg Law News • Aug. 13, 2025
DOJ Terminates Staff at Peacemakers, Access to Justice Units | Bloomberg Law News • Oct. 1, 2025
US scraps Justice Department task force that took on cartels, documents show | Reuters • Oct. 2, 2025
Lawmakers say agencies aren’t reinstating enough laid-off employees under shutdown-ending deal | Federal News Network • Nov. 24, 2025
Efforts to Preserve and Restore CRS
DOJ ‘Peacemaker’ Office Dismantling Spurs Eleventh-Hour Suit | Bloomberg Law News • Oct. 24, 2025
US civil rights groups sue to block closure of race-relations office | Reuters • Oct. 24, 2025
DOJ Downsizing of ‘Peacemakers’ Unit Unlikely to be Halted | Bloomberg Law News • Oct. 29, 2025
Judge allows Trump administration to fire most of DOJ race-relations agency's employees | Reuters • Oct. 30, 2025
US federal judge allows Trump administration to continue with near-elimination of Community Relations Service | JuristNews • Oct. 31, 2025
Civil rights groups sue to stop DOJ from closing office tasked with preventing unrest in cities | CBS News • Nov. 25, 2025
Democrats and rights groups accuse Trump’s Justice Department of ignoring hate crimes | The Advocate • Nov. 26, 2025
NAACP Sues to Block Trump’s Dismantling of ‘America’s Peacemaker’ Agency | Black Enterprise • Nov. 26, 2025
House Democrats Urge Court to Reinstate DOJ ‘Peacemakers’ Office | Bloomberg Law News • Dec. 5, 2025
St. Louis County NAACP sues the Justice Department for dismantling a federal civil rights division | St. Louis Public Radio • Dec. 16, 2025
Multicultural Bridge among civil rights organizations suing U.S. Department of Justice | Berkshire Eagle • Dec. 31, 2025
Spending Deal Revives Funds to DOJ ‘Peacemakers’ Office, Grants | Bloomberg Law News • Jan. 5, 2026
DOJ Reverses Firings at Peacemakers, Access to Justice Units | Bloomberg Law News • Jan. 10, 2026
Trump killed DOJ 'peacemaker' unit used to defuse tense protests | USA Today • Jan. 10, 2026
As protests build in Minneapolis and Portland, Justice Department has scrapped its "Peacemakers" office | CBS News • Jan. 11, 2026
Trump administration reinstates fired employees of DOJ race-relations agency | Reuters • Jan. 14, 2025
DOJ shuttered its 'peacemaking' unit. Now it wants some to return | USA Today • Jan. 14, 2026
The Fight to Save America's Peacemakers with Julius Nam | #RaceClass Podcast • Jan. 17, 2026