Government Shutdown Justice

DOJ Hit Hard by Shutdown, GOP Rejoice

If you’re a big fan of voter suppression and discrimination (aka a Republican), you’ll probably see this as good news.

For the Justice Department, many of its staff will be exempt from shutdown-imposed furloughs, due to the nature of its national security work, but some of its divisions will have to send home huge swaths of their staff. Among those is the Civil Rights Division, which is furloughing 71 percent of its employees, according to a copy of the Justice Department’s shutdown contingency plan. Of the division’s 634 employees, 182 will stay on board, including 134 attorneys.

Also hit: the general Civil Division with 71 percent of its 1,310 employees on furlough and the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which would lose 70 percent of its 1,339 employees.

The Civil Rights Division battles voter suppression and discrimination, the general Civil Division prosecutes Medicare and insurance fraud, and the Office for Immigration Review determines whether people who violate immigration laws should be allowed to stay or go.

What’s not to love if you’re a Republican? The Department of Justice is the enemy. Justice is the enemy. The black attorney general is definitely the enemy.

You may not have been able to corner Eric Holder with Fast and Furious or properly scold him for casting aspersions on your asparagus, but you’ve got his number now, don’t you?