Harmeet Dhillon
Lawyer and Republican Party official who led the DOJ Civil Rights Division
- Entries
- 10
- On the record
- 1
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- Nov 5, 2026
The record
Harmeet Dhillon built her public profile as a lawyer and Republican Party official before she ran the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. She founded Dhillon Law Group in 2006 and the nonprofit Center for American Liberty in 2019, according to her firm, and represented former Google engineer James Damore and another former employee in a class action alleging discrimination based on gender, race and political bias, which a judge allowed to proceed in 2019.
As California's Republican national committeewoman she challenged Ronna McDaniel for the RNC chair in December 2022. During the race some Alabama party activists raised concerns about her faith, which she answered in an email; McDaniel condemned religious bigotry, and a spokesperson denied that her supporters were behind it. McDaniel won the 2023 vote, and in 2024 Dhillon ran the Arizona Republican Party's election integrity operation.
Trump chose her in December 2024 to lead the Civil Rights Division. In July 2025 the division told Texas that four coalition congressional districts had to be corrected, a letter Justice Kagan recounted in a December 2025 dissent. In January 2026 at least six leaders of its criminal section resigned after the division declined to investigate an ICE officer's fatal shooting of a Minneapolis motorist; a department official said they had sought early retirement before the shooting.
Roles and honours on the record
- 2006 Founder, Dhillon Law Group source
- 2019 Founder, Center for American Liberty source
- as of 2022 Republican National Committee committeewoman from California source
- 2023 Candidate for Republican National Committee chair, lost to Ronna McDaniel source
- as of 2026 Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice source
Every entry, newest first
- Reported
Resigned as head of the DOJ Civil Rights Division, per a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. Harmeet Dhillon resigns at DOJ; says she was asked to wait
- Reported
Confirmed by the Senate as assistant attorney general for civil rights, per Fox News. Harmeet Dhillon resigns at DOJ; says she was asked to wait
Stories in this file
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The record, entry by entry
- 2019-06 Reported A judge allowed a class action by two former Google employees represented by Dhillon, including fired engineer James Damore, to proceed on claims of discrimination based on gender, race and political bias, Fox News reported. Fox News report
- 2022-12-06 Reported Dhillon, the RNC committeewoman from California, announced on Fox News that she would challenge Ronna McDaniel for chair of the Republican National Committee. CBS News report
- 2023-01-11 Reported In an email to Alabama Republican leaders, Dhillon answered concerns some activists had raised about her faith. McDaniel said she condemned religious bigotry in any form, and her spokesperson denied that her supporters were behind the questions. NBC News report
- 2024-10-09 Reported Dhillon, who lost the 2023 RNC chair race to McDaniel, was brought in to run the Arizona Republican Party's election integrity operation as early voting began, Axios reported. Axios Phoenix report
- 2024-12-10 Reported President-elect Trump chose Dhillon, one of his personal lawyers, to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division as assistant attorney general, subject to Senate confirmation, Bloomberg Law reported. Bloomberg Law report
- 2025-07-07 Official The Civil Rights Division sent the Texas governor and attorney general a letter raising serious concerns about the legality of four coalition congressional districts, as described in Justice Kagan's dissent in Abbott v. LULAC. U.S. Supreme Court, Abbott v. LULAC, No. 25A608, dissent
- 2025-12-04 Ruled The Supreme Court granted Texas a stay of a November 18, 2025 federal district court order in the redistricting case, over a dissent by Justices Kagan, Sotomayor and Jackson. U.S. Supreme Court, docket No. 25A608
- 2026-01-12 Reported At least six leaders of the division's criminal section resigned after it decided not to investigate an ICE officer's fatal shooting of a Minneapolis motorist, MS NOW reported. A Justice Department official said they had requested early retirement before the shooting. MS NOW report