Trump civil rights chief Harmeet Dhillon resigns as Democrats take Congress

The resignation

On Thursday, 5 November, Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general who led the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, had resigned, announcing it in a post on X. Dhillon, a Donald Trump ally, was confirmed to the post in April 2025 and spent about 18 months running the division. Before joining the department she founded the Dhillon Law Group and the Center for American Liberty, a nonprofit dedicated to defending Americans' civil liberties. In a resignation letter addressed to Trump, she said she had informed White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in early October of her intention to leave. Her exit is the first senior Justice Department departure since Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections held on Tuesday, 3 November.

“Today, I accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon.”

Blanche's post praised her for protecting civil liberties for all Americans while applying the law impartially. In her own letter, Dhillon said she would keep working on the country's behalf.

“I will continue fighting for our country in the years ahead.”

A division reshaped

Under Dhillon, the Washington Post reported, the division turned its attention toward antisemitism, prosecutions of noncitizens who voted, gun rights and what the administration describes as anti-Christian bias. Hundreds of career staff left the office, and the Post put the departures at more than half of the division's attorneys. The Guardian reported that the department dropped many cases alleging discrimination against racial minorities in voting, housing, employment and education. A whistleblower has said investigations into universities were run toward a predetermined outcome and that lawyers were told to find a reason to file a lawsuit. The division also sued more than two dozen states for voter roll information and lost every one of those cases, according to the Guardian.

Stacey Young, a former lawyer in the division who now leads the alumni group Justice Connection, was blunt in her assessment.

“Harmeet Dhillon has been the most destructive, lawless and hateful head of the civil rights division in DoJ history.”

Minneapolis killings and the incoming Congress

Two US citizens were killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis during an enforcement surge, and the division oversaw the investigations into both deaths. Neither investigation has led to criminal charges. Al Jazeera reported that Dhillon reportedly told staff earlier this year that her office would not examine the fatal shootings, although it typically handles killings by police officers. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat likely to become chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, pledged on Wednesday, 4 November, to pursue four investigations, including abuses by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and the Epstein files. In May, Garcia accused the administration of shielding Trump from scrutiny over unreleased documents tied to the Epstein investigation, and he alleged that Dhillon repeatedly stepped in to block questions about the president's connection to the release of the files during a closed-door hearing with Blanche's predecessor, Pam Bondi.

What is still unclear

The Justice Department referred Al Jazeera to Blanche's post when asked when Dhillon submitted her resignation. Axios reported that the department did not respond to its request for comment and that it is unclear whether other top officials may resign during the lame-duck period. Bloomberg Law first reported Dhillon's departure, and the Guardian said Democrats are expected to use their new congressional power to investigate executive agencies, including the Justice Department. Axios also wrote that Dhillon spent her tenure replacing attorneys with others more closely aligned with the administration's ideology.