Harmeet Dhillon, Justice Department Civil Rights Unit Leader, Resigns After Tensions

Resignation follows reported frustration

Blanche announced Dhillon’s resignation in a post on X, praising her leadership of the Civil Rights Division over the past 18 months. He said she had defended civil liberties and enforced the law.

Disputes over department role

Sources described significant tensions between Dhillon and Blanche, as well as Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. They said she complained to White House officials about both men. Dhillon reportedly objected to being kept from a more prominent role in election-related cases important to President Donald Trump. Blanche assigned his new deputy attorney general, Trent McCotter, to serve as the public face of those efforts, according to two people familiar with her complaints. Dhillon also unsuccessfully urged the White House to demote Woodward.

A senior administration official said Dhillon had told White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles she intended to leave. Wiles privately encouraged her to delay her departure until after the midterm elections.

Dhillon describes her tenure

After Blanche’s announcement, Dhillon wrote on X that serving as assistant attorney general for civil rights had been a great honor. She said her division had worked against illegal diversity, equity and inclusion programs and to protect women’s and girls’ sports.

The timing of her exit was viewed by some White House leaders as embarrassing for the administration, given the president’s losses in the midterms. Democrats recorded a historic wave of wins and took control of both the House and Senate.

Criticism from former officials

Justice Connection executive director Stacey Young criticized Dhillon’s leadership and said three-quarters of the Civil Rights Division’s career attorneys left during her tenure. Young accused Dhillon of using the department against universities, state and local officials, and election workers in cases she said rarely prevailed in court.

Young also said Dhillon closed investigations into police departments accused of patterns of constitutional violations and declined to investigate shootings involving ICE. Kristen Clarke, the NAACP’s general counsel, accused Dhillon of abandoning cases, reducing the workforce and using the division for partisan purposes; Clarke said civil rights problems had consequently gone unchecked.