Full Breakdown
HHS Restructures Office of Civil Rights to Reinstate Religious-Freedom Division
5/19/2026, 1:34:26 AM
Reorganization Overview
On May 18, HHS announced that its Office of Civil Rights (OCR) will be divided into three divisions—Conscience and Religious Freedom, Civil Rights, and Health Information Privacy, Data, and Cybersecurity. The change revives a religious-freedom unit created in 2018 under the Trump administration and eliminated in 2023 during the Biden administration.
Policy History
The OCR was reorganized in 2018 to add a conscience and religious-freedom branch. In 2023 the Biden administration merged that branch with the civil-rights unit into a single policy division. The current proposal restores the separate divisions, citing a need for distinct subject-matter expertise.
Leadership, Implementation, and Official Position
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. framed the move as a return to the clear, accountable, and resolute stance the Trump administration took on religious liberty. OCR Director Paula M. Stannard said each division will have its own senior-executive leader. HHS officials assert the reshuffle will not cut staff; instead, they will hire investigators and a senior executive for the new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division. A Federal Register notice, expected in June, will detail the final structure. The administration says the new arrangement will better safeguard religious liberty, enforce conscience rights, curb unlawful discrimination, and also address race-based discrimination, antisemitism, anti-Christian bias, and what it calls “biological truth.”
Legal Challenges and Opposition
State governments and advocacy groups have sued HHS over recent layoffs and the reorganization. While HHS says no net job losses will occur, other reports describe ongoing staff cuts and pending lawsuits. Critics contend that expanding conscience protections could restrict access to gender-affirming care and other services broadened under the prior administration.
Verbatim Quotes
- “This reorganization reinstitutes a structure that rightly prioritizes civil rights and conscience and religious freedom alongside health information privacy and security,” — Paula M. Stannard, Director, HHS Office for Civil Rights
- “All three areas are deserving of subject-matter expertise and distinct senior executive leadership for OCR to best serve the American people.” — Paula M. Stannard, Director, HHS Office for Civil Rights
- “This reorganization … strengthens the [OCR’s] ability to defend religious liberty, enforce conscience protections, and combat unlawful discrimination,” — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary, HHS
- “Under President Trump’s leadership, HHS will defend these rights with clarity, accountability, and resolve,” — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary, HHS
What’s Next
The June Federal Register notice will formalize the division structure and hiring plan. HHS will recruit investigators and a senior executive for the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division while continuing investigations in 13 states for alleged violations of federal conscience protections. Ongoing litigation may shape the final OCR restructure.
