‘Look forward to what’s next’: Indian American Harmeet Dhillon quits DOJ, says decision predated polls
Washington: Indian-American lawyer Harmeet Dhillon has resigned as the US Justice Department’s civil rights chief, saying she decided to leave weeks before the midterm elections and delayed her departure at the White House’s request.
Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed on Thursday that he had accepted her resignation. The Chandigarh-born attorney’s departure drew praise from the administration and criticism from Democrats and a group representing former Justice Department employees.
Dhillon told Fox News Digital that her decision preceded Tuesday’s elections, rejecting the suggestion that she had been asked to leave.
“I wasn’t asked to resign,” she said. “I resigned three weeks ago, and Susie asked me to please wait until after the midterms.”
She was referring to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Fox reported that Dhillon formally submitted her resignation on November 5, according to a letter it obtained.
She told Fox she wanted to return to private legal practice and believed she had completed the work she came to Washington to do.
In her own statement on X, Dhillon thanked President Donald Trump and defended her record overseeing the Civil Rights Division.
“Serving my country as AAG for Civil Rights has been the honor of a lifetime,” she wrote.
“We ushered in the downfall of illegal DEI, we fought to protect women and girls’ sports, and so much more.”
DEI refers to diversity, equity and inclusion.
“I want to thank President Trump for giving me this opportunity. I look forward to what’s next!” she added.
Blanche praised her leadership in a separate post announcing his acceptance of the resignation.
“She has defended the civil liberties of every American and enforced the law without fear or favor,” he wrote.
“The Department is grateful for her dedicated public service, and we wish her every success in her future endeavors.”
Critics offered a sharply different assessment of her tenure.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin accused Dhillon of using her position to advance Trump’s personal and political interests rather than protect Americans. His statement portrayed the departure as part of the political fallout from the Republican electoral defeat.
Stacey Young, who heads the Justice Department alumni group Justice Connection, accused Dhillon of abandoning the division’s traditional mission, according to The Hill. Young criticised the termination of police reform investigations and agreements, and the division’s approach to universities and election officials.
Dhillon and Blanche defended her work as enforcing legal protections, while her critics argued that the division had shifted away from protecting vulnerable communities.
Dhillon was born in Chandigarh and lived in London before her family moved to the Bronx in New York and later settled in North Carolina. She graduated from Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia School of Law, and founded the Dhillon Law Group and the Center for American Liberty.
Trump nominated her in December 2024. The Senate confirmed her on April 3, 2025, and she was sworn in four days later.