White House spokesman Jay Carney says it would be inappropriate for Obama to express an opinion on how the department deals with Zimmerman after the neighbourhood watch volunteer's acquittal in the shooting of the unarmed 17-year-old last year.
The department has said it's considering whether federal prosecutors should file criminal civil rights charges now that Zimmerman has been acquitted in the state case.
Critics of Saturday's verdict have called for the Justice Department to step in.