Trump administration ‘gutted’ federal civil rights enforcement, HRW says

A new report finds key federal agencies have stopped providing oversight of civil rights laws nationally.Published On 13 Aug 202613 Aug 2026Sweeping changes to staffing and policies in the Trump administration have “gutted” crucial monitoring and enforcement of civil rights laws in the US, according to new findings from Human Rights Watch.“The federal government plays a unique and irreplaceable role in enforcing anti-discrimination laws,” Human Rights Watch said in its report released on Thursday. “In some cases, federal law is more comprehensive than state laws, and in some cases, Congress gave federal agencies sole jurisdiction to bring these legal actions.”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Leading expert on US far-right groups charged with fraudlist 2 of 3Rights groups launch new legal challenge to Trump campaign against ICClist 3 of 3US plans to equip ICE officers with electric-shock glovesend of listThe rights group conducted interviews with former federal government officials, reviewed court filings and other records, and spoke with community leaders and civil rights lawyers about the impact of the Trump administration’s pivot away from advocating for the rights o...