Acting Civil Division Chief Faces Thorny Red State Tests Ahead

The temporary leader of the Justice Department’s largest litigating division is outlasting his expected tenure without becoming a target of the left or right while facing off against red states over abortion, guns, and immigration.

Brian Boynton, who has quietly helmed DOJ’s Civil Division since President Joe Biden’s inauguration, is technically a political appointee. But he’s one who past colleagues say manages as an institutionalist caretaker, not an advocate.

In his court filings and oral arguments on some of the nation’s most divisive issues, the First Amendment specialist has repeatedly balanced Biden’s policy goals against DOJ’s desire for consistency before ...