Vanita Gupta

Vanita Gupta
19th United States Associate Attorney General
In office
April 22, 2021 – February 2, 2024
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byRachel Brand
Succeeded byBenjamin C. Mizer (Acting)
United States Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
Acting
October 20, 2014 – January 20, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byMolly Moran
Succeeded byThomas Wheeler
Personal details
Born (1974-11-15) November 15, 1974 (age 49)
Media, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseChinh Le
Children2
RelativesRajiv L. Gupta (father)
EducationYale University (BA)
New York University (JD)

Vanita Gupta (born November 15, 1974)[1] is an American attorney who served as United States Associate Attorney General from April 22, 2021, to February 2, 2024.[2] From 2014 to 2017, Gupta served as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division under President Barack Obama.[3]

A career civil rights attorney, Gupta served as deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, where she oversaw its national criminal justice reform efforts.[4] She has also served as Assistant Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Throughout her career, she has drawn support from a wide range of liberal and conservative activists, as well as law enforcement groups, for building support for policing and criminal justice reform.[5][6] Before becoming Associate Attorney General, Gupta served as president and chief executive officer of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights from 2017 until her nomination as Associate Attorney General in 2021.[7][8]

  1. ^ "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Non-Judicial Nominees: Vanita Gupta" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  2. ^ "Office of the Associate Attorney General | Former Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. April 22, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Holder, Eric (October 14, 2014). "Attorney General Holder Announces Vanita Gupta to Serve as Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division". United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original on March 26, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  4. ^ "Biography of Vanita Gupta, The Huffington Post Blog Contributor". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  5. ^ Brookins, Freddie (June 9, 2016). "For Civil Rights Chief, Fighting For The Outsider Is Deeply Personal". NPR. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  6. ^ "Obama to nominate ACLU lawyer to lead Justice Department's civil rights division". The Washington Post. October 15, 2014. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  7. ^ Johnson, Carrie (January 6, 2021). "Merrick Garland Is To Be Joe Biden's Nominee For Attorney General". NPR. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  8. ^ Wagner, John; Itkowitz, Colby (April 21, 2021). "Senate narrowly confirms Gupta for No. 3 position in Justice Department". Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.