WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Harmeet Dhillon said she chose to resign and was asked by Susie Wiles to remain until after the midterms.
  • Dhillon formally submitted her resignation on November 5 and plans to return to private practice.
  • Her roughly 19 month tenure redirected the Civil Rights Division toward election integrity, religious discrimination, Second Amendment rights and other priorities.
  • Attorney General Todd Blanche praised Dhillon for defending civil liberties and enforcing the law without fear or favor.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon is resigning as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, saying the decision was hers and that the White House asked her to postpone her departure until after the midterm elections.

Dhillon told Fox News Digital that she reached her decision weeks before Republicans lost the House and Senate. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles then asked her to remain through the election.

“I wasn't asked to resign,” Dhillon told Fox News Digital. “I resigned three weeks ago, and Susie asked me to please wait until after the midterms.”

A resignation letter obtained by Fox News Digital shows that Dhillon formally submitted her resignation on November 5. She said she had informed Wiles three weeks before Election Day about her plans to leave.

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Dhillon said she believed she had “accomplished everything” she came to Washington to do. She wanted to return to private practice, where she had spent much of her career before entering the Trump administration.

The departing assistant attorney general also addressed whether she would appear before Congress if subpoenaed after leaving the administration. She said executive privilege would limit what she could discuss, but she indicated that she would obtain and follow legal advice.

“I would certainly take legal counsel and follow it in that regard,” Dhillon said. Her answer came as congressional Democrats were expected to consider targeting administration officials following their midterm victories.

Dhillon was also asked whether she expected President Donald Trump to pardon her or other administration officials. She said she had neither discussed nor requested a pardon from the president.

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“I have no idea. I haven't ever discussed that with him, asked for it,” Dhillon said. “And I have done nothing, in my opinion, that would require that, but, you know, that's up to the president.”

Dhillon moved to Washington after the deaths of her husband and father, saying she wanted to “serve my country.” After roughly two years in the administration, she decided that the time had come to return to the private sector.

“My decision, my choice,” Dhillon said. “It's time.”

Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that he had accepted the resignation and praised Dhillon’s record at the Justice Department. He credited her with defending civil liberties and enforcing federal law.

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“Today, I accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon,” Blanche wrote on X. “She has defended the civil liberties of every American and enforced the law without fear or favor. The Department is grateful for her dedicated public service, and we wish her every success in her future endeavors.”

Trump nominated Dhillon in December 2024, and the Senate confirmed her before she was sworn into office in April 2025. Her departure follows a roughly 19-month tenure leading the Civil Rights Division.

Before the midterms, Dhillon defended the Trump administration’s investigation into noncitizen voters. The issue was discussed during her appearance on CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” where host Lesley Stahl questioned the purpose of the administration’s effort.

Dhillon’s tenure brought a sweeping overhaul of the Civil Rights Division and redirected its priorities. Those priorities included DEI and policies based on race, religious discrimination, transgender participation in women’s sports, Second Amendment rights, and election integrity.

The transformation also brought substantial turnover within the division. Roughly 300 attorneys departed during Trump’s second term, according to recent reports, while Dhillon said she recruited more than 130 lawyers during her tenure.

Before joining the administration, Dhillon founded the Dhillon Law Group and the Center for American Liberty. She built a national profile through litigation involving the First Amendment, election law, and other civil rights cases.

Dhillon was also a longtime Republican Party official and Trump ally. Her nomination faced fierce opposition from Democrats and some traditional civil rights groups, while conservatives argued she would redirect a division they believed had become ideologically tilted under previous administrations.

Dhillon described that redirection as complete, leaving little mystery about how she views her time in office. “We changed it, and that's what we came here to do. And it's done,” she told Fox News Digital.

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