The US justice department unit charged with defending against legal challenges to signature Trump administration policies – such as restricting birthright citizenship and slashing funding to Harvard University – has lost nearly two-thirds of its staff, according to a list seen by Reuters. The Trump administration has broadly defended its actions as within the legal bounds of presidential power and has won several early victories at the supreme court. A justice department spokesperson said lawyers in the unit were fighting an “unprecedented number of lawsuits” against Trump’s agenda. A justice department spokesperson did not comment on the personnel moves. Justice department leadership has also brought in about 15 political appointees to help defend civil cases, an unusually high number.