Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon Resigns from DOJ Civil Rights Division
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Harmeet Dhillon, who led the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, has stepped down, becoming the first senior DOJ official to leave after the 2026 midterm elections.
Harmeet Dhillon, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, has resigned as Assistant Attorney General heading the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The departure was announced by Attorney General Todd Blanche, who said Dhillon had "defended the civil liberties of every American and enforced the law without fear or favor" and thanked her for her public service.
Dhillon's exit marks the first senior DOJ departure following the 2026 midterm elections, in which Democrats gained control of Congress and are expected to intensify oversight of executive agencies. Bloomberg Law first reported the resignation.
During her roughly 18-month tenure, Dhillon redirected the division's focus, reducing the number of cases related to alleged discrimination in voting, housing, employment and education. The division also pursued legal actions concerning university admissions policies and alleged antisemitism, prompting a whistleblower to claim that some investigations were guided toward predetermined outcomes.
The division continued investigations into the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, U.S. citizens killed by federal agents in Minnesota during an immigration enforcement operation, though no criminal charges have been filed.
The office also filed lawsuits seeking voter-roll information from more than two dozen states, all of which were dismissed by judges, including some appointed by President Trump.
"Harmeet Dhillon has been the most destructive, lawless and hateful head of the civil rights division in DoJ history," said Stacey Young, a former civil-rights division lawyer and head of Justice Connection, a group for DOJ alumni.
"After she upended the division’s mission-critical work, the civil servants who dedicated their careers to protecting vulnerable communities were instead told to target them – and more than three-quarters of the division’s lawyers left. Dhillon wielded the enormous power of the justice department to threaten universities, state and local officials, and election workers in spurious cases that rarely won in court," Young added.
Dhillon, who was born in India and raised in Smithfield, North Carolina, previously ran a law firm and served as vice-chair of the California GOP. After the 2020 election, she was involved in litigation contesting the results. She was known for posting updates about civil-rights investigations on X, a practice that surprised many DOJ attorneys accustomed to confidentiality.