WASHINGTON—Inalis ng Attorney General ni Pangulong Trump na si Pam Bondi ang pangkat ng pamunuan ng Seksyon ng Pagboto ng Dibisyon ng Mga Karapatang Sibil ng Kagawaran ng Hustisya at iniutos na tanggalin ang lahat ng aktibong kaso ng seksyon. Ang Seksyon ng Pagboto ay nagpapatupad ng mga pederal na batas na nagpoprotekta sa karapatang bumoto, kabilang ang Voting Rights Act, ang Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, ang National Voter Registration Act, ang Help America Vote Act at ang Civil Rights Acts.

Common Cause’s Senior Vice President of Policy and Litigation, Omar Noureldin, served as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights during the Biden-Harris administration.

Statement of Omar Noureldin, Common Cause Senior Vice President, Policy and Litigation

The Trump administration’s gutting of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division is doing profound and lasting damage to the protection of voting rights in the United States. The removal and reassignment of the section’s leadership and the dismissal of cases are themselves attacks on the voting rights of every American.

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s systematic removal of career attorneys and staff is not confined to the voting section – it extends to the entire Civil Rights Division. The upheaval and loss of experience will leave the division unable to enforce the nation’s civil rights laws.

As a former presidential political appointee at DOJ, I have the utmost respect for the Civil Rights Division’s career attorneys and staff. I saw firsthand the critical work they perform in ensuring the civil rights of every American are protected.

The mission of the Civil Rights Division is not, and has never been, partisan. Its mission is to enforce the nation’s civil rights laws impartially and vigorously. That is a job the division has done admirably across administrations for more than 60 years.

It is critical that the current administration reverse course in order to ensure that the civil rights laws passed by Congress are enforced effectively. And Congress must maintain vigilant oversight of DOJ and ensure the Civil Rights Division is adequately funded.