DOJ says Trump names Harmeet Dhillon interim replacement to lead Civil Rights Division, second Amendment section
Trainor takes over division
Blanche announced that Trump selected Craig Trainor, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, as Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. Trainor replaces Jesus Osete, who had assumed the role after Dhillon’s Nov. 5 resignation.
In a post on X, Blanche said Trainor had served as HUD’s Senate-confirmed assistant secretary since October 2025. He said Trainor oversaw nationwide enforcement of HUD civil rights statutes.
HUD record and policy work
Blanche credited Trainor as the principal architect of HUD civil rights enforcement policies. He said those policies cut the Biden-era fair housing case backlog in half. Blanche thanked Trainor for taking on the role and for his service to the American people and Trump.
Earlier legal work
Before joining HUD, Trainor served in the Department of Education. He also clerked for U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr., appointed by President George H.W. Bush, in the Northern District of New York.
In 2014, Scullin ruled against Washington, D.C.’s ban on carrying handguns. The following year, he struck down the city’s requirement that concealed-carry permit applicants show “good cause” to carry a firearm.
Supreme Court later ruling
In June 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that New York’s “good cause” requirement for carry permits violated the Second Amendment. The article identifies Trainor’s work for Scullin as part of his background on Second Amendment issues.
Key points
- Trump named Craig Trainor acting head of the DOJ Civil Rights Division, Blanche announced Tuesday.
- Trainor replaces Jesus Osete, who took over after Harmeet Dhillon resigned Nov. 5.
- Blanche said Trainor helped develop HUD policies that cut the fair housing case backlog in half.
- Trainor clerked for a judge who struck down Washington, D.C., gun-carry restrictions.