White House is expected to shake up more leadership roles at Justice Department, sources say [View all]

Source: CBS News

Updated on: April 4, 2026 / 3:41 PM EDT


President Trump is likely to make leadership changes involving two more top roles at the Justice Department, sources told CBS News on Saturday. The changes are most likely to affect Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the No. 3 official at the Justice Department and Harmeet Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

Senior officials have discussed promoting Dhillon to one of the top department roles, while demoting Woodward, the sources added. It was unclear if final decisions had been made yet. The discussions of a possible promotion for Dhillon come shortly after Mr. Trump ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this week, after frustrations that she had not aggressively pursued criminal charges against his political enemies. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on personnel matters.

Mr. Trump named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting attorney general earlier this week. It is unclear whether he will eventually be the permanent replacement. Other front-runners include Lee Zeldin, a former congressman who currently leads the Environmental Protection Agency, CBS previously reported.

Woodward previously served as a defense attorney representing many prominent Trump allies in the past, including White House adviser Peter Navarro, FBI Director Kash Patel and Walt Nauta, who was charged by Special Counsel Jack Smith in the classified documents case.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-shake-up-more-leadership-roles-justice-department/