Harmeet K. Dhillon, who oversaw the dismantling of the Justice Department’s prestigious Civil Rights Division while leading that unit, resigned Thursday, Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
The departure of the conservative attorney and Trump loyalist marks the first shake-up in the Justice Department since Democrats swept the midterm elections on Tuesday, with the party winning control of the House and Senate.
“Today, I accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who led the Civil Rights Division with conviction the past 18 months,” Blanche said on social media. “She has defended the civil liberties of every American and enforced the law without fear or favor.”
During her more than 18 months running the Civil Rights Division, Dhillon oversaw the departure of hundreds of career staffers, more than half the attorneys in the division.
She dramatically reshaped the office to propel President Donald Trump’s social agenda, redirecting attorneys to focus on combating antisemitism, prosecuting noncitizens who voted, expanding gun rights and taking aim at what Trump and his allies have described as anti-Christian bias and Democrats’ “woke ideology.”
To tackle those priorities, the division focused fewer resources addressing its historic mission of fighting discrimination of minority groups and those most vulnerable in society.
In a resignation letter Thursday addressed to Trump, Dhillon wrote that she had informed White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in early October of her intention to leave.
“I will continue fighting for our country in the years ahead,” Dhillon wrote. “Thank you again for your hard work on behalf of the American people and for giving me the opportunity to serve.”
As a Justice Department leader, Dhillon had a robust and fierce media presence, regularly posting on social media and appearing on conservative media to defend her agenda.
“I think that’s fine,” Dhillon said on a podcast about the mass departures in her office. “We don’t want people in the federal government who feel like it’s their pet project to go persecute police departments based on statistical evidence or persecute people praying outside abortion facilities instead of doing violence.”
She added: “The job here is to enforce the federal civil rights laws — not woke ideology.”
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