Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon resigned as head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division, and Attorney General Todd Blanche accepted her resignation amid conflicting accounts about who initiated the departure.
In a post on X on Nov. 5, Blanche credited Dhillon with leading the division for 18 months. The Associated Press projected Democrats to control the Senate late Nov. 3 and the House early Nov. 4. The chronology by itself does not establish that the election outcome prompted the resignation.
Dhillon told Fox News Digital she had made her decision three weeks before the announcement and that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles asked her to remain through the midterms. She said she hoped to return to private practice and told the outlet, “I wasn’t asked to resign.” Fox News Digital’s account of Dhillon’s explanation has not been independently verified.
CBS News offered a different account, citing two people familiar with the matter who said President Donald Trump wanted Dhillon fired after viewing her Oct. 18 appearance on “60 Minutes.” One source told CBS he believed she should have been more forceful when discussing the administration’s election-integrity efforts. The report has not been independently confirmed.
DOJ says the Civil Rights Division enforces federal statutes covering voting, disability rights, education, employment and housing. In a Nov. 3 release, DOJ said the Civil Rights Division was coordinating a plan to deploy about 1,000 monitors and observers across all 50 states. DOJ said it would be the first time the department monitored elections in every state. DOJ says the division’s election-monitoring role dates to the 1965 Voting Rights Act; it called this year’s nationwide effort its largest to date.
DOJ records show Dhillon received Senate confirmation on Apr. 3, 2025, and took the oath four days later. EconoTimes’ earlier report on Dhillon’s resignation covered the leadership change; Blanche’s post did not name a successor or set an effective date.
