DOJ civil rights chief Harmeet Dhillon resigns, says White House asked her to wait until after midterms

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon is resigning as head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, telling Fox News Digital exclusively that she made the decision weeks before Republicans' midterm losses and was asked by White House chief of staff Susie Wiles to delay her departure until after the election. "I wasn't asked to resign," Dhillon told Fox News Digital. "I resigned three weeks ago, and Susie asked me to please wait until after the midterms." Dhillon formally submitted her resignation on November 5, according to a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. Dhillon said she informed Wiles three weeks before Election Day that she believed she had "accomplished everything" she came to Washington to do and wanted to return to private practice. BONTA SAYS HE'LL COUNTER DOJ ELECTION MONITORS WITH OBSERVERS OF HIS OWN Asked if she would testify before Congress if subpoenaed after leaving the administration, Dhillon said there would be limits on what she could discuss because of executive privilege but indicated she would seek legal advice and follow it. "I would certainly take legal counsel and follow it in that regard," she said. Dhillon was also asked whether she expected Trump to pardon her or other administration officials if congressional Democrats sought to target them. "I have no idea. I haven't ever discussed that with him, asked for it," Dhillon said. "And I have done nothing, in my opinion, that would require that, but, you know, that's up to the president." She revealed that the decision to leave the DOJ ultimately came down to wanting to return to the work she had done for much of her career in the private sector. Dhillon moved to Washington following the deaths of her husband and father to "serve my country," but after roughly two years in the administration, she believed the time has come to leave. "My decision, my choice," Dhillon said. "It's time." DOJ FIRES BACK AT DEM AG OVER ELECTION DAY GUIDANCE TELLING OFFICIALS WHEN TO CALL COPS ON FEDERAL AGENTS Dhillon said she feels she has accomplished what she set out to do at the DOJ's Civil Rights Division and is ready to return to private practice. She was nominated by President Donald Trump in December 2024 and was sworn into office in 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 lead-up to the midterms, Dhillon defended the Trump administration's investigation into noncitizen voters. "There are people who feel that the point is to sow distrust about the whole election system. There are very few people who are noncitizens who end up voting — very, very few. And so, therefore, what's the purpose?" Lesley Stahl, host of CBS' "60 Minutes," had asked Dhillon. Dhillon's departure caps a roughly 19-month tenure in which the longtime conservative attorney carried out a sweeping overhaul of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, shifting its priorities toward issues including DEI and race-conscious policies, religious discrimination, transgender participation in women's sports, Second Amendment rights and election integrity. The transformation also brought extraordinary turnover inside the division, with roughly 300 attorneys departing during Trump's second term, according to recent reports. Dhillon has aggressively sought to rebuild its ranks, telling Fox News Digital that she recruited more than 130 lawyers during her tenure. Before joining the administration, Dhillon founded the Dhillon Law Group and the Center for American Liberty and built a national profile litigating First Amendment, election law and other civil-rights cases. A longtime Republican Party official and Trump ally, she was nominated by Trump in December 2024 and confirmed by the Senate in April 2025. Her appointment drew fierce opposition from Democrats and some traditional civil-rights groups, while conservatives argued that she would redirect a division they believed had become ideologically tilted under previous administrations. "We changed it, and that's what we came here to do. And it's done," Dhillon told Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital's Lindsay Kornick and Hanna Panreck contributed to this post. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.