Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed Thursday that Harmeet Dhillon has stepped down after leading a major restructuring of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, becoming one of the first senior Trump administration officials to depart following Republicans’ election losses.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WASHINGTON — Harmeet Dhillon resigned Thursday, Nov. 5, as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice, ending an 18-month tenure marked by significant changes to federal civil rights enforcement and the departure of hundreds of career employees.
Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed Dhillon’s resignation, praising her service and leadership of the Civil Rights Division. Her departure came two days after Democrats won control of the House and Senate in the 2026 midterm elections, delivering a major political setback to President Donald Trump’s administration.
According to The Associated Press, Dhillon’s tenure brought substantial changes to the division’s enforcement priorities, including increased attention to religious liberty, antisemitism on college campuses, voting procedures and challenges to diversity programs.
The resignation was initially reported by Bloomberg Law and Reuters, citing people familiar with Dhillon’s plans. Blanche subsequently confirmed her departure, although the administration had not announced a successor.
Dhillon, a longtime Republican attorney and Trump ally, was confirmed by the Senate on April 3, 2025, and sworn into office four days later by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi.
She entered the Justice Department promising to change how the federal government interpreted and enforced civil rights laws, arguing that previous administrations had pursued politically motivated policies.
Her leadership redirected resources away from several traditional areas of civil rights enforcement, including investigations of local police departments and certain discrimination cases, toward issues identified as priorities by the Trump administration.
One of the most significant changes involved federal oversight of police departments. The division discontinued several police reform efforts and moved away from settlements designed to address patterns of alleged unconstitutional conduct by law enforcement agencies.
Dhillon also oversaw investigations of universities accused of permitting antisemitism on campus and maintaining discriminatory admissions or employment practices.
The department examined diversity, equity and inclusion policies at educational institutions and private organizations, arguing that some programs unlawfully discriminated based on race or other protected characteristics.
Those investigations produced disputes with universities and civil rights organizations over the interpretation of federal anti-discrimination laws.
The changes also affected the division’s workforce. More than three-quarters of employees serving at the beginning of Trump’s second term left during the restructuring, according to the Associated Press.
Dhillon characterized the departures as the “biggest single personnel self-purge in DOJ history,” arguing that employees unwilling to follow the administration’s priorities should seek other positions.
She defended the division’s new direction in a 2025 interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck, saying “the job here is to enforce the federal civil rights laws — not woke ideology.”
Critics argued that the departures weakened the department’s ability to investigate discrimination, police misconduct and other potential civil rights violations.
Stacey Young, a former Civil Rights Division attorney who leads a network of Justice Department alumni, condemned Dhillon’s record following the resignation.
“Americans’ civil rights don’t enforce themselves. For almost 70 years, the Civil Rights Division brought to fruition the civil rights laws that Americans demanded,” Young said. “Dhillon decimated it.”
The division also pursued a nationwide campaign seeking detailed voter registration records from state election officials. Several legal challenges involving those demands resulted in court setbacks for the administration.
Dhillon defended the initiative as necessary to enforce federal election laws and examine the accuracy of voter registration systems. Critics raised concerns about voter privacy and the federal government’s authority to obtain the records.
In a statement reported by Axios, Blanche praised Dhillon’s leadership and enforcement record.
“She has defended the civil liberties of every American and enforced the law without fear or favor,” Blanche wrote.
“The Department is grateful for her dedicated public service, and we wish her every success in her future endeavors,” he added.
Before joining the administration, Dhillon established the San Francisco-based Dhillon Law Group and founded the Center for American Liberty, a nonprofit organization focused on constitutional rights and civil liberties litigation.
Her legal work included cases involving freedom of speech, election procedures, pandemic restrictions and disputes with technology companies.
Dhillon also served as a Republican National Committee member representing California and unsuccessfully challenged Ronna McDaniel for the RNC chairmanship in January 2023.
She previously represented Trump during a legal dispute involving a congressional subpoena issued by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
According to Bloomberg Law, Dhillon had been considering a departure after the midterm elections and a possible return to private legal practice.
Her resignation comes as the Justice Department prepares for increased congressional oversight following Tuesday’s elections, which gave Democrats control of both legislative chambers beginning in January 2027.
The Civil Rights Division, established in 1957, is responsible for enforcing federal laws protecting against discrimination in voting, employment, housing, education and other areas.
The next assistant attorney general will inherit a division substantially changed by personnel departures, revised enforcement priorities and ongoing litigation involving federal civil rights laws.
As of Thursday, the Justice Department had not publicly identified Dhillon’s replacement or announced whether additional senior officials would leave the administration.
Her departure marks a leadership change at one of the department’s most prominent divisions as the Trump administration enters the final two years of its term under a newly divided federal government.
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