First, the DOJ was one of the plaintiffs in the Texas voter id case and did an amazing job in this case. The DOJ provided some muscle in this case and many of the key expert witnesses
Second, due to the Shelby County case (the case that gutted the voting rights act), the DOJ does not have the power to send in federal poll watchers into Texas. In prior yeas the DOJ sent in federal election observers because Texas was a "covered jurisdiction" under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The Shelby County case caused Texas to no longer be a "covered jurisdiction" and so the DOJ does not have the authority to send in election monitors or observers.
If the trial court is allowed to continue its process, the trial court could "bail in" Texas under section 3 of the Voting Rights Act which would make Texas a covered jurisdiction again and allow the DOJ to send poll watchers and force Texas to pre-clear all election law changes.
The Obama administration in general and Attorney General Holder in particular has done a great deal in Texas. The DOJ played a key role in the Texas voter id case and AG Holder is doing what he can to protect the vote.
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