The U.S. Justice Department has ordered its civil rights division to pause any existing litigation left over from the administration of former President Joe Biden, and to not pursue any new cases or settlements,

It also signaled it could seek to back out of Biden-era agreements with police departments that engaged in discrimination or violence.

The new Justice Department leadership has put a freeze on civil rights litigation, and suggested it may reconsider police reform agreements negotiated by the Biden administration

The U.S. Department of Justice has ordered its civil rights division to pause any ongoing litigation left over from the administration of former President Joe Biden, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday.

The Department of Justice sent a memo to the interim director of the civil rights division, ordering a freeze to all ongoing litigation and a stop to any new cases.

It said the new administration “may wish to reconsider” such agreements, raising the prospect that it may abandon two consent decrees finalized in the final weeks of the Biden