DOJ Civil Rights Chief Harmeet Dhillon, Who Created the Division’s First Second Amendment Section, Resigns After Midterms
Key Takeaways
- Harmeet Dhillon resigned as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice in a letter dated November 5, 2026.
- Dhillon said she decided to leave about three weeks before Election Day, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles asked her to wait until after the midterms.
- Among her listed accomplishments was establishing the Civil Rights Division's first ever Second Amendment Section.
- Attorney General Todd Blanche accepted her resignation, saying she enforced the law without fear or favor.
- Dhillon's letter does not name a successor or say what happens to the Second Amendment Section.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
WASHINGTON, DC — Harmeet Dhillon has resigned as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, in a letter to President Donald Trump dated Thursday, Nov. 5. Among the accomplishments she listed: “Establishing the Division’s first ever Second Amendment Section.”
As reported by Fox News, Dhillon said she decided to leave about three weeks before Election Day, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles asked her to hold off. “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.” She told the outlet she wants to return to private practice. Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X that he had accepted her resignation, saying she “enforced the law without fear or favor,” according to Fox.
Read Harmeet Dhillon’s resignation letter (PDF)
The letter lays out the same timeline. “In early October, I informed Chief of Staff Wiles that I will be leaving the Department of Justice after the 2026 Midterm Election,” Dhillon wrote. “Consistent with that conversation, I hereby resign as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the United States Department of Justice.”
The Second Amendment Section is one of six items she listed as “historic victories.” The others cover DEI practices, women’s and girls’ sports, election monitoring, parental rights, and religious liberty and antisemitism.
On X, Dhillon wrote that serving as AAG for Civil Rights “has been the honor of a lifetime” and thanked Trump. “I look forward to what’s next!” she posted.
Trump nominated Dhillon in December 2024, and she took office in April 2025 after Senate confirmation, according to Fox, a tenure of roughly 19 months. She leaves after Republicans lost both the House and the Senate in last week’s midterm elections.
The broader Justice Department was not always on gun owners’ side during her tenure. In November 2025, Gun Owners of America called a DOJ brief an “open attack on the Second Amendment and the Constitution.” The brief answered the lawsuit GOA and Gun Owners Foundation filed after Congress removed the historic $200 tax. GOA said DOJ used that tax removal as a pretext to expand federal power.
More from USA Carry:
- “Constitutional Rights Aren’t for Sale”: Harmeet Dhillon Puts San Jose on a Six-Day Clock Over Its $1,591 Carry Permit Fee
- DOJ Civil Rights Division Opens Investigation Into Middletown and Waterbury Police Over Carry Permit Delays and Denials
- DOJ Civil Rights Division Opens Second Amendment Investigation Into Pennsauken, NJ Police Over Gun Permit Delays
- DOJ to Launch Second Amendment Rights Office on Dec. 4th
- FIRST REVIEW: NAA Ranger II Mini Revolver 22 Mag for Backup Carry
Dhillon’s letter does not name a successor or say what happens to the Second Amendment Section.
I will continue tracking who leads the Civil Rights Division next and what becomes of its Second Amendment Section.
Read the original story: DOJ Civil Rights Chief Harmeet Dhillon, Who Created the Division’s First Second Amendment Section, Resigns After Midterms