Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta is leaving the Justice Department after three years overseeing some of the administration’s most contentious legal issues ranging from protecting abortion rights to criminal and police reform efforts, according to the department.
Gupta is the first woman of color and first civil rights attorney to hold the Justice Department’s No. 3 post, which oversees the department’s civil litigation sections including antitrust enforcement, as well as the Civil Rights and the Environmental and Natural Resources divisions.
Her departure early next year is expected to come after the Justice Department completes its critical incident review of the law enforcement response to the May 2022 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
In a statement to CNN, Attorney General Merrick Garland thanked Gupta for her work and for being one of his trusted advisers.
“Vanita’s commitment to the pursuit of justice, and her relentless focus on bringing people together to find common ground, has made her an incredibly effective leader in dealing with some of the most complex challenges facing the American people,” Garland said. “Vanita has played an essential role in our work to fulfill DOJ’s mission to uphold the rule of law, keep our country safe, and protect civil rights. … I am confident that her enormous contributions to the Department will continue to be felt long after her departure.”
Gupta is credited with helping to oversee major legal settlements in tort cases brought against the federal government by victims in mass shootings, including at Sutherland Springs, Parkland and the Charleston Mother Emanuel AME Church.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade last June, she helped establish the Justice Department’s Reproductive Rights Task Force.
As the…
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