A memo instructed division supervisor Kathleen Wolfe to ensure that civil rights attorneys do not file “any new complaints, motions to intervene, agreed-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest,” the Washington Post reported.
The letter does not say how long the freeze will last, but the order essentially shuts down the division for at least the first couple of weeks of the Trump administration.
Trump nominated Harmeet Dhillon to lead the division; she is awaiting Senate confirmation.
The memo states that officials are implementing the freeze to be “consistent with the Department’s goal of ensuring that the Federal Government speaks with one voice in its view of the law and to ensure that the President’s appointees or designees have the opportunity to decide whether to initiate any new cases.”
A different memo sent to Wolfe on Wednesday…
