On September 22, 2025, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division announced the creation of the Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch. This signals that the Civil Division's reorganization is much broader than prior DOJ announcements and press reports had suggested and aligns with the planned dissolution of the Consumer Protection Branch (CPB) at the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
Powers and Responsibilities of the Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation
The creation of this Branch impacts the responsibilities of the Federal Programs Branch, CPB, the Office of Immigration Litigation, and the Appellate Staff. CPB handled both criminal and civil litigation related to protecting consumers' "health, safety, economic security, and identity integrity," as well as criminal and civil enforcement actions under statutes administered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Notably, the CPB will be eliminated altogether.
The new Branch will bring affirmative litigation to enforce federal laws and regulations, enjoin actions that conflict with or violate federal law, obtain declaratory judgments, and seek monetary penalties where appropriate. Responsibilities will be divided into two sections, consistent with the new Branch's name.
The Enforcement Section will be responsible for civil affirmative enforcement matters currently assigned to the CPB and, importantly, "will retain concurrent authority to investigate and prosecute criminal violations of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, the Consumer Product Safety Act, and other healthcare related statutes."1 (Emphasis added.) Thus, the Enforcement Section has authority to investigate certain criminal matters—for example, through the issuance of subpoenas in connection with possible healthcare offenses, as occurred in July 2025.
The Affirmative Litigation Section will take over all affirmative litigation currently assigned to Area 1 of the Federal Programs Branch (including litigation in which the United States initiates actions to enforce compliance with federal statutory and regulatory programs) and immigration-related litigation currently being handled by the Office of Immigration Litigation. This Section is authorized to bring suit to "enjoin sanctuary jurisdiction laws, policies, and practices that facilitate violations of federal immigration laws or impede lawful federal immigration operations."
As a result of this reorganization, the Federal Programs Branch will focus solely on defensive litigation, and denaturalization cases will remain with the Office of Immigration Litigation. The Civil Division's Appellate Staff will handle appeals in cases filed by the Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch.
Branch Leadership
The Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) will supervise the Branch, a Senior Executive Service (SES) Director will manage the two sections, and two SES Deputy Directors will run each section on a day-to-day basis. A new Special Litigation DAAG will assist with supervising the Branch and will handle matters delegated by the Assistant Attorney General.
Key Takeaways
Going forward, the Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch will lead civil affirmative enforcement efforts previously led by CPB, including actions under statutes administered by the FDA, the FTC, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the DEA, and NHTSA. The memo also suggests that the Federal Programs Branch will not be providing support to NHTSA in defect enforcement cases. In addition, given the priority placed on immigration-related enforcement by the Trump Administration, litigation formerly handled by the Office of Immigration Litigation may take precedence within the new Branch, in the near term.
This restructuring of the DOJ aligns with this Administration's previously-stated priorities—including the Civil Division's five priority areas, which we discussed in our June Legal Update . While the memorandum makes clear that some of the work of the prior CPB will continue—through the new Civil Division Branch and through the authorization of both the Criminal and Civil Divisions of the DOJ to pursue criminal violations of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, the Consumer Product Safety Act, and other healthcare related statues—the dual responsibility over certain criminal matters could, in practice, result in confusion among regulated entities regarding where (and with whom) at DOJ concerns should be raised.
While pending grand jury investigations are unlikely to be closed simply as a result of this reorganization, Criminal Division personnel and supervisors could become involved in ongoing criminal matters implicating consumer health and safety—potentially complicating their resolution and making coordination of parallel civil investigations more challenging.
Moreover, the dispersal of CPB personnel with significant experience in complex and highly technical bodies of law carries the risk of inconsistent approaches in consumer health and safety matters across the country, as a broader array of federal prosecutors may seek to initiate investigations without the benefit of the centralized expertise that the CPB once provided.
Mayer Brown's multidisciplinary team is uniquely positioned to provide strategic legal counsel on the complex legal and compliance issues presented by actions brought in connection with these DOJ enforcement priorities.
Footnote
1 CPB's other criminal enforcement responsibilities will be transferred to the Criminal Division. This may include odometer fraud matters previously handled in coordination with NHTSA.
Visit us at mayerbrown.com
Mayer Brown is a global services provider comprising associated legal practices that are separate entities, including Mayer Brown LLP (Illinois, USA), Mayer Brown International LLP (England & Wales), Mayer Brown (a Hong Kong partnership) and Tauil & Chequer Advogados (a Brazilian law partnership) and non-legal service providers, which provide consultancy services (collectively, the "Mayer Brown Practices"). The Mayer Brown Practices are established in various jurisdictions and may be a legal person or a partnership. PK Wong & Nair LLC ("PKWN") is the constituent Singapore law practice of our licensed joint law venture in Singapore, Mayer Brown PK Wong & Nair Pte. Ltd. Details of the individual Mayer Brown Practices and PKWN can be found in the Legal Notices section of our website. "Mayer Brown" and the Mayer Brown logo are the trademarks of Mayer Brown.
© Copyright 2025. The Mayer Brown Practices. All rights reserved.
This Mayer Brown article provides information and comments on legal issues and developments of interest. The foregoing is not a comprehensive treatment of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should seek specific legal advice before taking any action with respect to the matters discussed herein.
