Trump‑aligned Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon resigns from Justice Department

Indian‑American Harmeet Kaur Dhillon has stepped down as the U.S. Assistant Attorney General heading the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, becoming the first senior official to exit the Trump administration since the recent mid‑term elections. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the resignation in a Thursday (Nov 5, 2026) post on X, saying Dhillon “led the Civil Rights Division with conviction” and thanked her for defending civil liberties without fear or favour. Dhillon, whose law firm served on Donald Trump’s campaign legal team, told Fox News she resigned of her own volition and delayed public notice at the request of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles until after Election Day. In her own X message she called her service “the honour of a lifetime,” claimed the division “ushered in the downfall of illegal DEI” and “protected women and girls’ sports,” and thanked President Trump for the opportunity. Born in Chandigarh to a Punjabi Sikh family, Dhillon’s parents moved to London and then the United States in the 1970s, attracted by a doctor shortage during the Vietnam era. She became a naturalised citizen at age ten. Before joining the Justice Department she ran a San Francisco law firm and became a regular guest on conservative podcasts, often using social media to highlight division work and to spark ideas for investigations. At a Moms for Liberty event in New York in May she described her immigration to the U.S. as the “greatest gift” from her parents.

Context

Dhillon’s departure underscores how senior Justice Department posts can become politically symbolic in a divided administration, and it highlights the growing use of social media by officials to shape policy agendas.