The New York Times has obtained an internal announcement from the Justice Department that shows the Trump administration wants the civil rights division to start investigating university affirmative action admission policies and sue those schools they decide discriminate against white applicants.
The DOJ is looking for current lawyers who want to work on "investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions," the Times reports, and the memo suggests this special project will be run out of the front office of the civil rights division, which is where political appointees work. The Times' Charlie Savage writes that both supporters and critics of the project said it is "clearly targeting admissions programs that can give members of generally disadvantaged groups, like black and Latino students, an edge over other applicants with comparable or higher test scores."
The Justice Department would not share any additional details. You can read the entire report, which discusses what the civil rights division does and how it has changed since President Trump's inauguration, at The New York Times.
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