Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon Resigns from Civil Rights Post

WASHINGTON, Harmeet Dhillon has resigned as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, according to a statement released by Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday. Dhillon, a conservative attorney confirmed in the role last year, oversaw a major restructuring of the unit during her tenure.

The division experienced a high rate of staff turnover under Dhillon's leadership. More than three quarters of the unit's workforce that was present at the start of President Donald Trump's second term has left. Dhillon described this turnover in a past interview as the biggest single personnel self-purge in Justice Department history.

Blanche praised Dhillon in a social media post, stating that she led the division with conviction and defended the civil liberties of every American. He noted that the department is grateful for her dedicated public service and wishes her success in future endeavors. Dhillon did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the resignation on Thursday.

Critics within the legal community have raised concerns about the direction of the division during this period. Stacey Young, a former division attorney who now leads a network of Justice Department alumni, described Dhillon as the most destructive head of the division in department history. Young stated in an emailed statement that Dhillon decimated the unit, which had enforced civil rights laws for almost 70 years.

During her time in the role, the division altered its enforcement priorities. It scrapped police reform settlements and investigations. It also launched probes into elite universities, focusing on admissions processes and campus conduct. These efforts led to numerous settlements and the resignation of the president of the University of Virginia. Dhillon also led an effort to pressure states to turn over detailed voter records, a move that faced repeated court losses.

Before joining the Justice Department, Dhillon was active in conservative legal circles. She ran for chair of the Republican National Committee in January 2023 but lost to Ronna McDaniel. Her law firm also represented President Trump during a House committee investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack. The committee eventually abandoned its subpoena for his testimony, a move Dhillon celebrated on social media.

Dhillon, a Sikh who immigrated to the United States from India as a child, maintained a frequent presence on social media while in office. She publicly pledged to investigate tips about alleged civil rights abuses that she received on the platform X.