The United States Department of Justice Civil Division represents the United States, its departments and agencies, members of Congress, cabinet officers, and other federal employees. Led by the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, the Division's litigation reflects the diversity of government activities, involving, for example, the defense of challenges to presidential actions; national security issues; benefit programs; energy policies; commercial issues such as contract disputes, banking insurance, patents, fraud, and debt collection; all manner of accident and liability claims; enforcement of immigration laws; and civil and criminal violations of consumer protection laws. Each year, Division attorneys handle thousands of cases that collectively involve billions of dollars in claims and recoveries. The Division confronts significant policy issues, which often rise to constitutional dimensions, in defending and enforcing various Federal programs and actions.
In April 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Javier Guzman to lead the division as Assistant Attorney General. That nomination was withdrawn on July 20, 2021.
Organization The Civil Division is made up of the following offices: Appellate Staff Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Fraud Section General Corporate/Financial Litigation Section Intellectual Property Section Foreign Litigation Section National Courts Section Consumer Protection Branch Federal Programs Branch National Security, Foreign Relations, and Law Enforcement Section Interstate and Foreign Commerce Section Government Agencies and Corporations Section Nondiscrimination Personnel Litigation Section Discrimination in Employment Litigation Section Human Resources Section Interior, Agriculture, and Energy Concerns Section Housing and Community Development Section Freedom of Information and Privacy Section Regulatory Enforcement and Defensive Banking Litigation Section Disability Litigation Section Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) Appellate Section District Court Section Office of Management Programs Torts Branch Aviation, Space & Admiralty Section Federal Tort Claims Act Section Environmental Torts Section Constitutional and Specialized Torts Section Tobacco Litigation Section
Office of the Assistant Attorney General
#NameTerm beganTerm endedPresident(s) served under1 Charles B. Rugg 1930 1933 Herbert Hoover2 George C. Sweeney 1933 1935Franklin Delano Roosevelt3 Angus D. MacLean 19354 James W. Morris 1935 19375 Sam E. Whitaker 1937 19396 Francis M. Shea 1939 19457 John F. Sonnett 1945 1947Harry S. Truman8 Peyton Ford 1947 19499 H. Graham Morison 1949 195110 Holmes Baldridge 1951 195311 Warren E. Burger 1953 1956Dwight D. Eisenhower12 George Cochran Doub 1956 196013 William Horsley Orrick Jr. 1961 1963 John F. Kennedy14 John W. Douglas 1963 1966 John F. KennedyLyndon B. Johnson15 H. Barefoot Sanders Jr. 1966 1967Lyndon B. Johnson16 Edwin L. Weisl Jr. 1967 1969 17 William Ruckelshaus 1969 1970Richard M. Nixon18 L. Patrick Gray 1970 1972 19 Harlington Wood Jr. 1972 197320 Carla Anderson Hills 1973 197521 Rex E. Lee 1975 1977 Gerald R. Ford22 Barbara A. Babcock 1977 1979Jimmy Carter23 Alice Daniels 1979 198124 Paul J. McGrath 1981 1985Ronald Reagan25 Richard K. Willard 1985 198826 John R. Bolton 1988 198927 Stuart M. Gerson 1989 1993 George H. W. Bush28 Frank W. Hunger 1993 1999Bill Clinton 29 David W. Ogden 1999 200130 Robert D. McCallum Jr. 2001 2003George W. Bush31 Peter D. Keisler 2003 200732 Gregory G. Katsas 2008 200933 Tony West 2009 2012Barack Obama34 Stuart F. Delery 2012 2016 — Benjamin C. Mizer (acting) 2016 2017 — Chad Readler (acting) 2017 2018Donald Trump35 Jody Hunt 2018 2020 — Ethan P. Davis (acting) 2020 2020 — Jeffrey Clark (acting) 2020 2021 — Brian Boynton (acting) 2021 2025 Joe Biden — Yaakov M. Roth (acting) 2025 2025Donald Trump36 Brett A. Shumate 2025 Present
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