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For nearly three years, the job of Deputy Attorney General, the third-highest position in the Justice Department, has been a sprint.
Vanita Gupta, who is preparing to leave her position this week, told NPR in an exclusive interview Tuesday that she meant that literally.
“I've been in situations where I'm literally running down the hallway and crossing other people running in the opposite direction just to make sure we're getting the information out there and having the robust discussions we need about the issues,” he said. .
Today's issues range from civil rights and the environment to moments of tragedy.
Gupta, 49, said some of his most meaningful and painful experiences have been meeting victims of gun violence, including street crime in Chicago, a racist killing at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and the killings of 19 children and two teachers. May 2022 in Uvalde, Texas.
Federal authorities this month said some of Uvalde's victims may have died as a result of a botched law enforcement response. She recalled that her family sobbed when they heard the Justice Department's findings.
“This is a journey that will stay with me forever,” Gupta said. “I talk about them a lot because it’s important to understand that the trauma left in the wake of these acts persists long after the media is gone.”
She said the Department of Justice is working to support survivors and first responders who have been traumatized after witnessing the most horrific events.
This is Gupta's second visit to the Justice Department.
During Obama's presidency, she led the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, launching systematic investigations into police departments that violated the Constitution. Investigating these patterns or practices has not been favored by the Trump administration.
But Gupta and her colleagues have revived these tools.
“We operate to ensure efficiency, and when we see areas that are less efficient or need improvement, we have to be willing to look at ourselves and do better,” she said.
Officials in Phoenix, where police are facing a wide-ranging civil rights investigation, have criticized the Justice Department for a “one-size-fits-all” approach to police reform. But Gupta responded that the Justice Department was fair and independent and even imposed new limits and responsibilities on police watchdogs.
Another top priority for Gupta was responding to the Supreme Court's ruling. Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization This decision struck down nearly 50 years of abortion rights precedent.
“Dobbs “It was a devastating blow to reproductive freedom in the United States, and the decision was deeply disproportionate in its effect,” she said. “The greatest burden has been felt by people of color, people with limited financial means, and other vulnerable groups,” she said.
As the fight over abortion rights continues, the Justice Department is involved in two cases pending before the Supreme Court regarding abortion. That means supporting access to mifepristone, which is used in medication abortions, and requiring hospitals to comply with laws governing Medicare-participating facilities. We provide abortions when necessary to ensure the stability of emergency room patients.
“We have heard horror stories of women being denied emergency care, or being told to sit in a parking lot while they bleed, because doctors are literally afraid of being accused of making a bad decision or making a bad decision. “It raises the question of whether it is an emergency situation that requires abortion care to save the woman’s life,” he said.
The Justice Department is also locked in a feud with Texas at the U.S. Supreme Court over the state's actions to restrict federal immigration agents. Gupta said the department would protect the interests of the federal government. “We’ve talked through litigation,” she said, about cases where states may have violated the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
She helped reach settlements in sensitive cases.
One of the lesser-known aspects of her portfolio as attorney general, which encompasses the civil rights, tax, environment and grantmaking departments, is defending the federal government when it is sued.
Gupta helped reach settlements in several highly sensitive cases, including allegations that the FBI dropped the ball on the background investigation of the Emanuel AME Church shooter in Charleston, South Carolina, and the case of the man who opened fire on students in Parkland. Yes. Florida.
Late last year, she also oversaw a settlement over the Trump administration's family separation practices that separated immigrant parents and children. The deal, approved by the court, prevents family separations for the next eight years and provides support services to separated families.
“It is important that we take very seriously our defensive role in defending federal agencies across government. But it is also important that the Department of Justice, the only agency of the federal government named for its values, aims to pursue justice and justice. . Make justice happen,” he said.
Claims for monetary damages by some segregated migrants have proven more difficult to resolve politically.
A lifelong civil rights lawyer, she said she doesn't think the work is completely done, but she's confident the team that will remain in place is “working hard to protect our democracy.”
She is preparing to leave on Friday. Gupta, the mother of two teenage children, is not sure what will happen to her in the future, she said. She added: “I'm going to take some time off, maybe smother the kids with a little overparenting and read a good book.”
Gupta said he may find a way back, having worked in public service his entire life, primarily as a civil rights lawyer.