In the aftermath of the colossal rebuke of the midterms, some departures from the Trump administration should be expected. Harmeet Dhillon did not appear on my Bingo card, however.
Fox News just reported that Dhillon has resigned from the Department of Justice. As the head of its Civil Rights Division, Dhillon had energetically pursued Donald Trump's priorities on election security, free speech, and dismantling of DEI policies:
Harmeet Dhillon resigned Thursday as the Department of Justice's assistant attorney general for civil rights, sources told Fox News.
Dhillon was nominated by President Donald Trump in December 2024, before being sworn in during April 2025 after being confirmed by the Senate. She is leaving after Trump's Republican Party lost the House and Senate in this week's midterm elections.
In the leadup to the midterms, Dhillon defended the Trump administration's investigation into noncitizen voters.
Bloomberg Law had reported this morning that Dhillon would resign sooner rather than later. She plans to go back into private practice:
The staunch Trump ally leaves behind a Civil Rights Division that’s shifted toward conservative causes, including religious liberties and the formation of a Second Amendment section. Following the mass exodus of career attorneys from the division, she’s recruited dozens of new attorneys with backgrounds steeped in conservative advocacy to work on litigation over state voter rolls, immigration, and alleged antisemitism on college campuses.
Former officials said the department is bracing for multiple other top political appointees to exit in the lame duck period before the New Year. Dhillon would be the second Senate-confirmed DOJ official to depart in recent weeks, following Patrick Davis’ resignation from the Office of Legislative Affairs last month.
Dhillon, a former Republican Party official and campaign lawyer for President Donald Trump, previously indicated in an August roundtable interview with Bloomberg reporters and editors that she planned to return to her California-based law firm, Dhillon Law Group, following her tenure at DOJ.
So far, Dhillon has not released a statement about the reasons for her resignation. This will put the White House in a tough position, as it now faces a (very) hostile Senate for any new appointments. It may be possible to push through a replacement in this session of Congress, but Thune will have to work fast, and he may have a couple of more rush jobs coming down Pennsylvania Avenue as well.
We'll update as we hear more. For now, though, this is quite a blow to Trump's domestic policy efforts.
Update: Did Dhillon get snubbed for a promotion?
My guess is — Harmeet Dhillon found out yesterday she was not going to be nominated to the open Deputy AG position. She has been in a months-long battle to move up inside DOJ.
— Shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) November 5, 2026
Shipwreckedcrew has good contacts within the DOJ. Again, we'll keep our eyes peeled for more developments.
Update: AG Todd Blanche confirmed her resignation with a gracious-if-boilerplate valediction:
Today, I accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who led the Civil Rights Division with conviction the past 18 months. 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.
— Attorney General Todd Blanche (@AGToddBlanche) November 5, 2026
The Department is grateful for her dedicated public service, and we wish her every success in her future endeavors.
That sounds pretty terse in light of Ship's input.