Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, a close aide of US President Donald Trump, has resigned from an important post in the Justice Department. He made it clear that the decision to step down was taken before the mid-term elections. Now she will start private practice again.
Washington: After the defeat of the Republican Party in America's midterm elections, a big news has come out from the Trump administration. Senior Indian-origin official Harmeet Kaur Dhillon has resigned from the post of head of the Civil Rights Division of the US Justice Department. This was confirmed by Attorney General Todd Blanch on Thursday, November 5.
However, Dhillon has denied that his resignation was linked to the election results. She says that she had made up her mind to step down several weeks ago.
Why did Harmeet Dhillon leave the Trump administration?
After the election results in America, the discussion about changes in President Donald Trump's team has intensified. Meanwhile, Harmeet Kaur Dhillon has decided to separate from the Justice Department. She was holding the responsibility of Civil Rights Division from April 2025. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dhillon said that he had expressed his desire to resign about three weeks ago. At that time, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles had requested him to remain in office until the midterm elections.
Dhillon said that no one had asked him for resignation. Leaving the post is his own decision. Now she wants to return to the private sector and practice law again. However, his resignation has come at a time when the Democratic Party has secured majority in both houses of the US Congress. For this reason, his decision is being considered politically important for the Trump administration.
Todd Blanche praised the work of Harmeet Dhillon
US Attorney General Todd Blanche informed about accepting the resignation of Harmeet Dhillon on social media platform X. He said Dhillon led the Civil Rights Division for the past 18 months and tried to protect the rights of American citizens during his work. Blanch praised his work, saying that he attempted to enforce the law without fear or favor. Also expressed gratitude for his services rendered in the Justice Department.
On the other hand, Dhillon also thanked President Trump. He said that working on this post has been a great honor of his life. Referring to the achievements of his tenure, he described the work done on issues related to discrimination in educational institutions, women's sports and civil rights as important.
Who is Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, who has an old relationship with Donald Trump?
Harmeet Kaur Dhillon of Indian origin is a well-known name in the world of American politics and advocacy. He was born in Chandigarh. She moved from India to Britain with her parents in her childhood. After some time the family settled in America. Dhillon completed his studies there and later took up advocacy as his career.
He graduated from Dartmouth College. After this he studied law from the University of Virginia. After becoming a lawyer, he advocated in many famous cases. Later he also opened his own law firm. Harmeet has been associated with Republican Party politics for a long time. She has held the responsibility of Vice President in the California Republican Party. In the year 2023, he also contested the election for the post of Chairman of the Republican National Committee. However, he was not successful in that election.
His association with Donald Trump is also not new. She has worked on many of his legal cases. During the Republican National Convention in the year 2024, Harmeet performed Ardas on the stage as per Sikh tradition. After that program she came into limelight.
When Trump became the President of America for the second time, he entrusted Harmeet with the responsibility of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. He took the oath of office on 7 April 2025 after Senate approval. After handling this responsibility for about one and a half years, he resigned on 5 November 2026. Harmeet says that she wants to do private law again and had decided about it a few weeks ago.
Why was there controversy over sending 1,000 monitors in the US elections?
During the tenure of Harmeet Dhillon in the Justice Department, a decision regarding election monitoring was much discussed. During the US midterm elections in November 2026, the Justice Department sent about 1,000 monitors and observers to keep an eye on the voting process. The campaign spanned all 50 states. The responsibility for this was with the Civil Rights Division. The department said that the officers have been deployed so that the rules are followed during voting and the rights of any voter are not violated.
But questions were also raised over the deployment of such a large number of federal officers. Some Democratic Party leaders and civil rights organizations expressed concern that this could increase the interference of the central government in the elections. He said that some voters may feel uncomfortable due to the presence of officials at the polling stations.
Why did the employees leave the department during the tenure of Harmeet Dhillon?
During Harmeet Dhillon's stay in the Justice Department, many changes took place in the functioning of the Civil Rights Division. During this period a large number of employees left the department. According to an Associated Press report, more than three-quarters of the staff present at the beginning of Trump's second term later left the department.
Questions were also raised on these resignations and changes. Many former officials alleged that the department is no longer paying as much attention to the cases for which it was created. These included civil rights cases related to racial discrimination and police actions. Dhillon, on the other hand, said that the department should focus on enforcing the law and not work according to any particular political ideology.
During his tenure, issues related to alleged discrimination in universities, anti-Semitic incidents, the right to bear arms and elections were given more importance.