The U.S. Senate has confirmed Chandigarh, India-born conservative lawyer Harmeet Dhillon, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in a 52-45 vote. One Republican, Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, voted no along with Democrats.
Dhillon will oversee criminal and civil work ranging from hate crime prosecutions and voting rights litigation, to investigating law enforcement agencies for engaging in patterns of discrimination. Dhillon, 56, a staunch Trump supporter, is the founder of the far-right Center for American Liberty.
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At her confirmation hearing, she said she supports the Trump administration’s efforts to ban the use of diversity, equity and inclusion policies by government and private corporations, calling such programs “illegal and unconstitutional.”
Her nonprofit group says it advocates for the rights of Americans “left behind” by more traditional civil rights groups such as the NAACP LDF and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
“Throughout her career, Harmeet has stood up consistently to protect our cherished Civil Liberties, including taking on Big Tech for censoring our Free Speech, representing Christians who were prevented from praying together during Covid, and suing corporations who use woke policies to discriminate against their workers,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform when he announced her nomination.
Born in Chandigarh, India to a Punjabi Sikh family in 1969, Dhillon moved to London with her family before eventually settling in the United States so her father, Tejpal Singh Dhillon could pursue a career as an orthopedic surgeon.
Dhillon attended elementary school in The Bronx, New York ]before moving to Smithfield, North Carolina. She attended the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, graduating at age 16. After finishing high school at age 16, she attended Dartmouth College. She became a writer and eventually editor-in-chief at The Dartmouth Review.
She has served as Director, South Asian Bar Association of Northern California 2001-2004, Director, Support Network for Battered Women (Santa Clara County) 2001-2003, Director, California Women’s Leadership Association(2004-2005; 2008-2009).
She has won several awards including Top 100 Lawyers in California – Daily Journal, 2018; “SALDEF Public Service Award” – Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), 2013; “Woman Leader in Law” – The Recorder, 2012 and “Cornerstone Award” – North American South Asian Bar Association, 2012.