Craig Trainor to Lead DOJ Civil Rights: What Changes Next
President Donald Trump has named HUD official Craig Trainor acting head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division after Harmeet Dhillon resigned.
Image: Wikimedia Commons / Another Believer
WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 — President Donald Trump has named Craig Trainor, a housing official, acting head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, filling the post left vacant when Harmeet Dhillon resigned last week. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the appointment on Tuesday evening, saying Trainor would also take charge of the division's Second Amendment Section.
Trainor has served since October 2025 as the Senate-confirmed assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he oversaw nationwide enforcement of federal fair housing and civil rights law. He takes over a division Dhillon reshaped, steering it from voting-rights and police-reform work towards diversity cases, voter-roll demands and lawsuits against universities.
- Trump has appointed Craig Trainor acting assistant attorney general for civil rights; Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the move on Tuesday evening.
- Trainor has led fair housing enforcement at the housing department since October 2025 and earlier ran civil rights enforcement at the Education Department.
- He inherits lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of California, Los Angeles over campus antisemitism, plus the division's voter-roll cases.
- Dhillon resigned on November 5 after 18 months; her deputy, Jesus Osete, ran the division in the interim.
Who Is Craig Trainor and What Is His Record
Trainor came to national attention in February 2025 at the Education Department, when he warned schools and universities they could lose federal funding over diversity, equity and inclusion policies. He later served as acting assistant secretary for civil rights there before moving to the housing department in October 2025.
Before joining the administration, Trainor was a lawyer at the America First Policy Institute and senior special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee under Representative Jim Jordan. Blanche called Trainor the principal architect of the housing department's civil rights enforcement policies, which he said had halved the fair housing case backlog.
Which Cases Trainor Inherits at the Civil Rights Division
The division enforces federal civil rights law across voting rights, fair housing, education and police conduct, and under Dhillon gained the department's first Second Amendment Section. Trainor inherits lawsuits accusing Harvard University and the University of California, Los Angeles of allowing antisemitism on campus, and the division's campaign to obtain state voter rolls, which has produced a string of court defeats.
The appointment fills one of several Justice Department vacancies since the midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of Congress. Civil Division chief Brett Shumate resigned on Monday, as reported in the resignation of the department's fourth senior official in a week, and the White House has warned Democrats their planned investigations could draw criminal referrals, as covered in the White House warning to Democrats over their planned probes.
| Official | Post | Left |
|---|---|---|
| Harmeet Dhillon | Civil Rights chief | Nov 5 |
| John Eisenberg | National Security chief | Nov 6 |
| Jason Reding Quiñones | US Attorney, S.D. Florida | Nov 6 |
| Brett Shumate | Civil chief | Nov 9 |
Will Trump Nominate Trainor Permanently
Whether Trump will nominate Trainor permanently is not yet clear. A permanent appointment would need Senate confirmation; Democrats take control on January 3, and no nomination has been announced. Trainor's record suggests the division will keep its focus on voting cases, diversity challenges and gun-rights enforcement.
Dhillon, a longtime Trump ally confirmed in April 2025, said she had submitted her resignation three weeks before the midterms and had been asked to hold the announcement until after the vote. She said she was returning to private legal practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Craig Trainor, the new acting head of the DOJ Civil Rights Division?
Trainor is the housing department's assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity, a post he has held since October 2025. He previously ran civil rights enforcement at the Education Department and was senior counsel to the House Judiciary Committee under Representative Jim Jordan.
Why did Harmeet Dhillon resign from the Justice Department?
Dhillon resigned on November 5 after 18 months in the post. She said she had submitted her resignation three weeks before the midterm elections, had been asked to delay the announcement until after the vote, and was returning to private legal practice.
What does the DOJ Civil Rights Division do?
The division enforces federal civil rights law covering voting rights, fair housing, education and police conduct. Under Dhillon it also gained the department's first dedicated Second Amendment Section, which brings cases on behalf of gun owners.
The Justice Department has not said whether a permanent nomination will follow, and Trainor has not yet commented publicly.
