As the Senate Judiciary Committee considers the nomination of Harmeet Dhillon to be Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) sent a letter to Senate leadership outlining Ms. Dhillon’s troubling record and urging the Senate to reject her nomination. In the letter, LDF highlighted her attacks on civil rights protections, her efforts to undermine voting rights, and her baseless claims of election fraud as undeniable reasons why she is wholly unfit for the position.
LDF President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson issued the following statement:
“The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division serves as the heartbeat of our federal government’s commitment to equal justice under the law. It is charged with upholding the civil rights of all Americans—ensuring fair access to the ballot box, combating discrimination, and protecting marginalized communities from harm. To confirm Harmeet Dhillon as leader of this critical division would be an affront to the agency’s mission and a direct threat to the civil rights protections on which millions of Americans rely.
“Throughout her career, Ms. Dhillon has actively worked to erode the very rights she would be tasked to enforce. She has sought to undermine voting rights and defended restrictive laws that suppress access to the ballot, particularly for Black voters. She has pushed baseless election fraud claims that fuel distrust in our democracy. And she has attacked diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives while aligning herself with those who seek to roll back hard-won progress for Black communities, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other communities of color.
“The Civil Rights Division cannot be led by someone who has made dismantling civil rights protections for marginalized communities a hallmark of their legal career. If confirmed, Ms. Dhillon would turn back the clock on decades of progress, weaponizing the Justice Department to serve an ideological agenda rather than safeguarding the rights of all Americans. The Senate must reject this nomination without hesitation. The integrity of the Civil Rights Division—and the fundamental principles of justice and equality—depend on it.”
Read the letter sent to Senate leadership here.
