House Democrats Urge Court to Reinstate DOJ ‘Peacemakers’ Office

Dozens of House Democrats accused the Trump administration in court of taking a “wrecking ball” to federal agencies as they joined efforts to revive a shuttered Justice Department office dedicated to resolving conflict.

The Trump administration doesn’t have authority to dismantle the Community Relations Service, a civil rights-era agency created by Congress, and its efforts to do so make a “mockery” of the constitutional separation of powers, the Democrats argued in a friend-of-the-court brief filed Friday in Boston federal court.

They also told the court the government’s decision to eliminate the agency—firing all but one employee—is “part of a broader trend of disregard for Congress’s role in the constitutional system.” President Donald Trump has also moved to dismantle the Department of Education and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“CRS is far from the first victim of this particular brand of executive branch lawlessness. Since January, the President and his delegates have taken a wrecking ball to a range of departments, agencies, institutes, and offices created by statute, contrary to the express will of Congress,” the brief says.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the House Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, led the amicus brief, joined by 89 other House Democrats.

Raskin in a statement highlighted CRS’ work combating hate crimes, antisemitism, and religious violence in American communities and said “its work is more relevant and urgent than ever.”

The briefs support an October lawsuit filed by community-based organizations, including those focused on addressing racial bias in policing and reproductive rights, in a last-bid effort to have the office reinstated.

Headquartered in Washington, CRS officers from over two dozen field offices have come to communities facing tensions or conflict to facilitate events and training.

CRS officers have deployed to communities following the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager, in Florida, and during the 2021 trial and sentencing of Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis after the murder of George Floyd.

However, the Trump administration has moved to defund the office, saying it doesn’t align with its law enforcement priorities.

The DOJ office’s conciliation services were halted earlier this year, and the administration sent termination notices to all but one of CRS’ remaining employees in late September, effective at the end of October. That employee is expected to be transferred to the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, the administrative office supporting top prosecutors, according to government lawyers.

The Justice Department has argued in court that the preservation of one employee means the office’s legally required functions are maintained, even if the office has been eliminated as a standalone component.

Judge Indira Talwani of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts initially ruled against the community groups, after finding they hadn’t met the standard for a temporary order halting their terminations while litigation continued.

However, the judge said at an earlier hearing that the Justice Department “has a real problem on the merits” behind its decision to cut the agency, indicating she may ultimately rule in the groups’ favor.

The groups also argued in a November filing that the short-term funding extension passed by Congress in November, which reversed shutdown-related layoffs, should have applied to the dissolution of CRS.

The government’s lawyer said at a scheduling hearing last month that it doesn’t believe the stopgap funding bill requires the termination notices to be reversed.

The case is Ethical Society of Police v. Bondi, D. Mass., No. 1:25-cv-13115, brief filed 12/5/25.