The acting head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is leaving his post after six months.
Tom Wheeler, who previously served as general counsel to Vice President Mike Pence when Pence was governor of Indiana, was named the acting head of the Civil Rights Division in January.
Though Wheeler was not expected to be in the role permanently, he was at the forefront of many of the Justice Department’s biggest issues so far this year. Those include the withdrawal of Obama-era guidance on bathroom use in public schools for transgender students, and seeing through the sentencing of Charleston shooter Dylann Roof.
“Tom Wheeler committed to leading the Civil Rights Division for the first six months of this administration. We are grateful for his service and dedication to protecting the civil and constitutional rights of all individuals. John Gore will continue in the Acting Assistant Attorney General role until the President’s nominee is confirmed,” Justice Department spokesman Devin O’Malley told the Washington Examiner in an email on Friday.
In June, Trump tapped Eric Dreiband, a former George W. Bush administration official, to lead the division. He is still awaiting his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has so far not scheduled a date.
A former Obama official has come out against that pick.
“Whoever leads the ‘crown jewel’ of the Justice Department must have deep relationships with stakeholders and marginalized communities, and have a deep, abiding faith in our nation’s civil rights laws,” said Vanita Gupta, head of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and a former leader of the Civil Rights Division under President Obama. “They must respect the laws that touch everyone, rights that people have literally died for. They must respect the role of what has been called the conscience of the federal government. In all those regards, Eric Dreiband is woefully unqualified to lead the Civil Rights Division.”
Gore will now take over the Civil Rights Division until Dreiband is confirmed. A well-known Republican partner at Jones Day law firm, Gore represented the University of North Carolina in its lawsuit against the Obama administration’s guidance on transgender bathroom use. He has also worked on defunding redistricting plans on behalf of Republicans in Florida, New York, South Carolina, and Virginia.
The departure of Wheeler comes as many vacancies remain at the Justice Department, awaiting nominations from President Trump.
NPR first reported Wheeler’s departure, and that he told Justice Department staffers on Thursday.
