Harmeet Dhillon reshapes DOJ Civil Rights Division mission

Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, has implemented a radical transformation of the Civil Rights Division since taking leadership in April 2025. According to current and former officials, Dhillon has replaced hundreds of longtime attorneys with ideological allies and shifted the division's enforcement priorities.

Dhillon argues that the division's traditional mission has narrowed to focus primarily on protecting people of color, a concept she describes as “benevolent racism” intended to punish descendants of historical oppressors. Under her leadership, the division has dropped numerous investigations into voting rights and racial discrimination.

New enforcement efforts include lawsuits seeking voter information from several states to address alleged election fraud by noncitizens, though many of these have been dismissed by judges. Additionally, the division has filed claims against several institutions, including UC Berkeley, Duke University, and George Washington University, alleging discrimination against white and Asian students. A previous lawsuit against Harvard University regarding antisemitism was dismissed by a federal judge in August.