Trump Names Harmeet Dhillon’s Interim Replacement To Lead DOJ Civil Rights Division, Second Amendment Section

President Donald Trump has named Craig Trainor, a senior Housing and Urban Development official, to act as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, including its Second Amendment section. He replaces Jesus Osete, who took over after Harmeet Dhillon resigned on 5 November.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said Trainor had led nationwide enforcement of HUD civil rights laws since October 2025 and helped cut the department’s fair housing case backlog in half. Trainor previously worked at the Education Department, the House Judiciary Committee and as a lawyer and prosecutor; he also clerked for a judge who ruled against restrictions on carrying handguns in Washington, DC. In 2022, the Supreme Court struck down a similar “good cause” permit requirement in New York.