Civil Rights Chief Resigns Amidst Controversy
Harmeet Dhillon's 18-month tenure ends following midterm election losses and scrutiny over division's direction.
Carla Rooney
Donald Trump’s chief of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice has resigned.
Dhillon's leadership of the Civil Rights Division deployed over 900 election observers. However, over 75% of the division's career staff resigned or faced forced removal during her time.
The division dropped numerous cases alleging discrimination against racial minorities in voting, housing, employment, and education. It also oversaw investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by federal agents in Minnesota; neither investigation resulted in criminal charges.
Dhillon steered the agency away from critical missions like police oversight and combating racial discrimination. The division refocused towards culture war issues, including investigations into diversity initiatives and transgender athletes.
Under her direction, the agency abandoned police misconduct probes and scaled back traditional voting rights protections. The division also sued over two dozen states for voter roll information, losing all cases.
A whistleblower claims investigations into schools were conducted with a predetermined outcome. Lawyers received instructions to find reasons to file lawsuits.
Dhillon sometimes revealed civil rights investigations on X. This startled longtime justice department lawyers, given the department's practice of not speaking publicly about ongoing investigations.
Stacey Young stated, "Harmeet Dhillon has been the most destructive, lawless and hateful head of the civil rights division in DoJ history." Dhillon has used a slur for people with disabilities and described conservative influencers as 'hoes'.