Harmeet Dhillon, Head of Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, Reportedly Steps Down After Midterm Defeat

Harmeet Dhillon, a Donald Trump ally who led the justice department's civil rights division, is reportedly leaving the position. Dhillon's departure was first reported by Bloomberg Law.

Dhillon is the first high-ranking justice department official to leave after the midterm elections in which Democrats took control of Congress. Democrats are expected to use that power to aggressively investigate executive agencies, including the justice department.

Dhillon dramatically transformed the civil rights division in a little over a year and a half there, reorienting its mission away from the work it had traditionally done protecting the civil rights of minorities.

Under her leadership, the department dropped many cases alleging discrimination against racial minorities in voting, housing, employment and education. Scores of career lawyers also left the division under her leadership.

Dhillon aggressively pursued claims of discrimination at universities, including claims that minorities were unfairly favored in admissions and claims of antisemitism against Jewish students. A whistleblower has said that investigations into the schools were conducted with a predetermined outcome and that lawyers were told to find a reason to file a lawsuit.

The civil rights division also oversaw investigations into the killing of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by federal agents in Minnesota during an immigration enforcement surge — neither has resulted in criminal charges.

The division also had some high-profile failures under Dhillon's watch. It sued more than two dozen states for voter roll information and lost every single case. Several of the judges who ruled against the department were appointed by Donald Trump.

Stacey Young, a former civil rights division lawyer who now leads the group Justice Connection, said that after Dhillon upended the division's mission-critical work, more than three-quarters of the division's lawyers left.

Dhillon grew up in Smithfield, North Carolina, after being born in India and then living in the UK and New York. Before joining the government, Dhillon ran her own law firm and was vice-chair of the California GOP. After the 2020 election, she worked on lawsuits contesting the election results.