Civil Rights Chief Harmeet Dhillon Resigns After 18 Months
The departure marks the first exit of a senior Justice Department official following the midterms.
By Matthew Collins ·
Harmeet Dhillon resigned as the head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division on Wednesday, ending a tenure that lasted 18 months. She was the first senior official to leave the Trump administration after Democrats regained control of both chambers of Congress in the recent midterm elections. Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the news on the social media platform X.
Dhillon assumed the role in early 2025 with a mandate to reshape the division. During her time in charge, she removed approximately 300 attorneys and filled their positions with new hires aligned with the administration's ideological goals. This restructuring represented a sharp departure from the unit's historical mission, which dates back to the creation of the division about 70 years ago during the movement to end racial segregation.
For decades, the division focused on enforcing constitutional rights across housing, employment, education, and policing. Dhillon argued that the office had previously protected the rights of people of color exclusively. She redirected the division's resources toward enforcing presidential executive orders. These directives targeted what the administration described as radical indoctrination in schools, gender ideology extremism, and anti-Christian bias.
"We don't just slow down the woke," Dhillon stated at a Federalist Society event in 2025. "We take up the cause to achieve the executive branch's goals." Her leadership saw the division pursue legal actions against dozens of states ahead of the midterm elections. The lawsuits sought voter information to support the president's claims of widespread fraud, though courts frequently dismissed the department's cases.
The division also filed suits against universities and law schools, alleging discrimination against white and Asian students. It specifically sued UCLA and Harvard for allegedly permitting antisemitism on their campuses. Stacey Young, a former division attorney who now leads the group Justice Connection, criticized Dhillon's tenure. Young called Dhillon the most destructive head in the division's history, noting that the department used its power to threaten officials in cases that rarely resulted in victory.
Blanche described Dhillon's service in his announcement. "Today, I accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who led the Civil Rights Division with conviction the past 18 months," he wrote. He added that the department values her dedicated public service and wishes her success in her future endeavors.
Dhillon's departure leaves the Civil Rights Division without a designated leader as the new congressional session begins. The division continues to operate under the general oversight of the Justice Department while the search for a replacement proceeds.
