Harmeet Dhillon, a senior DOJ official who oversaw Trump’s anti-trans initiatives, resigns

A senior official in President Donald Trump’s Justice Department senior official who consistently targeted the LGBTQ+ community is out after a controversial 18-month run.

Harmeet Dhillon, who oversaw the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, submitted her resignation today, according to Attorney General Todd Blanche on X.

"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," the post reads.

The former vice chair of the California Republican Party, Dhillon is the first reported top official to leave the Trump administration following an Election Day that saw Democrats win in historic numbers.

“Serving my country as AAG for Civil Rights has been the honor of a lifetime,” she posted on X.

“We ushered in the downfall of illegal DEI, we fought to protect women and girls’ sports, and so much more. I want to thank President Trump for giving me this opportunity. I look forward to what’s next!”

Related: Justice Department sues Kansas schools for protecting trans students from being outed

Dhillon drastically reshaped the Civil Rights Division, which was created in 1957 to protect “the civil and constitutional rights of all persons in the United States by enforcing anti-discrimination laws,” according to the official website.

Under her, about 300 lawyers were pushed out and replaced with staff who were more aligned with the views of President Donald Trump and willing to carry out his executive orders.

"We don’t just slow down the woke," Dhillon said at a Federalist Society event in 2025. "We take up the cause to achieve the executive branch's goals."

Her exit was celebrated by LGBTQ+ groups.

“Harmeet Dhillon spent her time hellbent on dismantling the Civil Rights Division, driving out more than half its attorneys and turning an institution built to protect vulnerable people into a tool to target the LGBTQ+ community, among many others. Her departure is welcome, if overdue. But it doesn’t automatically undo the damage," Human Rights Campaign Sr. Vice President of Policy and Litigation Sharon McGowan said in a statement.

Related: Now Trump’s DOJ is investigating 36 Illinois school districts over LGBTQ+ content

"The new Congress must use its oversight power to find out what was lost and restore the division’s true mission. And the Senate should not confirm anyone in this role whose anti-LGBTQ+, anti-civil rights views come even close to Dhillon.”

In September, Dhillon and the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against a Kansas school district to stop them “from facilitating the secret ‘transitioning’ of children’s ‘gender identity’ at school without their parents’ knowledge or consent, in violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.”

The suit marks the first such legal action in the department’s history.

“Parental rights are paramount in the operation of America’s public schools, and Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools does not know children better than their own parents,” Dhillon said. “The Department will not tolerate school districts playing fast and loose with federal law in the service of radical gender ideology.”

In May, Dhillon’s division opened civil rights investigations in 36 Illinois public school districts “to determine whether they have included sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) content in any class for grades pre-K-12.”

“This Department of Justice is determined to put an end to local school authorities keeping parents in the dark about how sexuality and gender ideology are being pushed in classrooms,” Dhillon said in the statement.

Related: DOJ threats against Don Lemon worry press freedom groups

On social media, Dhillon was not shy about publicly stating the views of the department, with at one point telling independent journalist Don Lemon he was being put “on notice”.

Her office later brought a case against him and protesters against the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota.