Harmeet Dhillon, who has led the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division since April 2025, resigned Nov. 5, Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed.
It's the first major resignation from the DOJ since Republicans suffered massive losses in this week's midterms, ushering in Democratic congressional committee control next year that could heighten scrutiny of the department's actions.
Blanche praised Dhillon's work in a Nov. 5 post on X, saying she had "defended the civil liberties of every American and enforced the law without fear or favor."
The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.
Since 2025, the Trump administration has cleared
out most of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division's previous lawyers. Dhillon said on a Breitbart News podcast in August of 2025 that about 75% of its lawyers – about 300 out of 400 – had left in the first seven months of the new administration.
Dhillon led an effort to redirect the division's efforts.
Since Trump retook office, the DOJ has dropped lawsuits brought under President Joe Biden that accused police departments in Louisville and Minneapolis of violating civil rights, and abandoned agreements that governed policing practices in those departments going forward.
The Civil Rights Division under Dhillon has investigated potential racial preferences in employment and university admissions, religious liberty issues, and local limitations on gun ownership.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Justice Department civil rights head Harmeet Dhillon resigns
