President Donald Trump has appointed Craig Trainor, a top official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to be the next chief of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Tuesday night.

Trainor is currently the assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity at HUD. He will replace former civil rights chief Harmeet Dhillon, who left the administration last week amid conflicts with Blanche and other department leaders.

It is unclear whether Trainor will be nominated to the position permanently, which would require Senate confirmation.

Trainor previously served as a senior special counsel with the House Judiciary Committee under Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and as senior litigation counsel with the America First Policy Institute. He authored a “Dear Colleague” letter in February 2025 “that is widely considered the Trump administration’s blueprint for enforcing civil rights laws and restoring the Constitution’s promise of equal protection,” according to his biography on the Federalist Society website.

Trainor will take over a Civil Rights Division profoundly changed by his predecessor. Dhillon had used her office to champion culture war grievances and roll back efforts to address racial injustices. She targeted universities over diversity initiatives and pushed anti-transgender policies. She dismissed complaints of civil rights violations against Black Americans and abandoned law enforcement reform efforts.

Dhillon was the first of several administration officials to depart after the GOP’s drubbing in the midterm elections. She had shared her intention to leave with former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who privately urged Dhillon to delay her resignation until after the elections, according to a senior administration official who spoke with MS NOW on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive personnel matters.

The timing of Dhillon’s departure was seen by some White House leaders as an embarrassment for the administration, given the historic wave of Democratic midterm wins and the House and Senate flipping to Democratic control.

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