Michael Gates was appointed Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in 2025.
Posted by Ask Dr. Drew, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
Ask Dr. DrewOct 21, 2026
Sources establish that Michael Gates took a Deputy Assistant Attorney General post in the DOJ Civil Rights Division in February 2025, matching the claim's 2025 timing. A primary DOJ court filing from June 2025 lists him in that role, and the claim is faithful to the post's wording.
What was said
… Drew lately. Michael Gates is an attorney, husband, father of five. He is running for California attorney general. He has served as city attorney for Huntington Beach. He'll tell me how many times he sued Governor Newsom successfully. He was appointed deputy assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in 2025, and voting was one of those issues I want to get his opinion about. Gates for HB dot com. Gates number four HB. Nope, that's the only one. Michael Gates, Esquire. Gates for a G dot com. Gates for a G. Is it number four? Yes. Okay, Gates number four AG. …
Ask Dr. Drew · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. A February 10, 2025 LA Times report says Gates announced he was resigning as Huntington Beach city attorney to take a job as deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ civil rights division.[3]
Supports. A primary DOJ federal court complaint dated June 25, 2025 lists Michael E. Gates as Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, and he is signed as counsel.[1]
Supports. Further primary and tier-1 records from 2025 identify Gates as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division, including a June 2025 internal email and a September 2025 state letter addressed to him in that role.[2][4]
Context. Later reports say Gates was reported fired for cause in November 2025, but the DOJ then reversed that and accepted his resignation. This concerns how his service ended, not whether he was appointed in 2025.[5][6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 2 primary, 5 not rated
- 1[PDF] Case 8:25-cv-01370 Document 1 Filed 06/25/25 Page 1 of 10 Page IDjustice.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 22025_09_02 MDOS DOJ Lettermichigan.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3Huntington Beach City Atty. Michael Gates takes position with ...latimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4DOJ seeking Illinois voter data to purge suspected ...abc7chicago.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Justice Department says it reverses Michael Gates' firing, will accept ...ocregister.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 6Prominent California attorney was fired from the Justice ...eastbaytimes.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 7Huntington Beach attorney - LAistlaist.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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