United States: U.S. President Donald Trump plans to select former executive branch appointees from his initial tenure to head key positions at the Department of Justice by promoting John Eisenberg for national security division leadership alongside Brett Shumate for civil division oversight, as confirmed by the Justice Department on Wednesday.
Shumate to Lead Civil Division
Shumate currently serves as acting civil division head while leading the Department in its defense against multiple lawsuits regarding federal worker dismissals and government agency dismantling, as well as several challenges to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency seeking sensitive data access, as reported by Reuters.
Shumate represented Trump’s presidential order on birthright citizenship before a federal judge found it unconstitutional. Shumate joined the Jones Day law firm which maintains enduring ties with Trump.
He worked as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Division’s Federal Programs Branch between Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021.
Eisenberg to Oversee National Security Division
During Trump’s initial White House tenure Eisenberg served as both National Security Council legal adviser and presidential assistant as well as National Security Affairs presidential deputy counsel.
Aside from his work as deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel Eisenberg also served as a senior official in the Justice Department. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas gave Eisenberg the opportunity to work as his law clerk while being part of the high court’s right-wing faction.
Additional DOJ Appointments
The Department announced through a statement that Patrick Davis will take over the Office of Legislative Affairs in his third assignment to that Department. The duties of deputy associate attorney general fell to Trump during his initial four years as president, as reported by Reuters.
Each position demands formal approval from the U.S. Senate for congressional affirmation.
Trump declared this change during his statement made the day after he directed all departing U.S. attorneys currently serving under Democrat Joe Biden to end their positions while claiming without evidence that departmental political bias reached unprecedented levels.