WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Harmeet Dhillon resigned Thursday as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, ending an 18-month tenure marked by major policy changes, staff departures, and controversy over the department’s approach to civil rights enforcement.

Attorney General Todd Blanche announced her departure in a post on X, praising her leadership and commitment to enforcing federal law. He thanked Dhillon for her public service and wished her success in her future endeavors.

However, her resignation comes amid growing questions about her leadership and the direction of one of the Justice Department’s most prominent divisions.

Dhillon told White House chief of staff Susie Wiles in early October that she planned to leave after the midterm elections, according to her resignation letter to President Donald Trump. However, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that Trump demanded her removal after watching her Oct. 18 interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”

During the interview, Dhillon discussed the administration’s efforts to investigate election integrity violations. She highlighted prosecutions involving noncitizens who allegedly voted illegally in previous elections. She also said the Trump administration was examining thousands of cases, compared with 13 prosecutions under former President Joe Biden.

One source said Trump believed Dhillon should have delivered a stronger explanation during the interview. Nevertheless, Justice Department officials reportedly delayed her removal and allowed her to follow through with her resignation plans.

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis praised Dhillon’s performance, saying she had done a fantastic job and thanking her for her service.

Dhillon took charge of the Civil Rights Division after a significant leadership change. During her tenure, more than 75% of its staff left, creating a major shift within an office that traditionally focused on protecting vulnerable communities from discrimination.

The division, often described as the Justice Department’s crown jewel, changed its priorities under her leadership. Instead of focusing primarily on traditional civil rights enforcement, it increasingly pursued issues such as gun owners’ rights, restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion policies at universities, and legal challenges involving transgender rights.

In her resignation letter, Dhillon highlighted her efforts to end what she described as unlawful DEI practices. She also cited lawsuits aimed at protecting women’s and girls’ sports from transgender athletes.

Meanwhile, her leadership drew criticism from former division employees and civil rights advocates. The department closed several discrimination investigations involving Black Americans. It also ended more than 50 longstanding agreements with public school districts, many in the Deep South, that sought to protect Black students from discrimination.

Additionally, Dhillon canceled pending agreements with the Minneapolis and Louisville police departments. Federal investigators had pursued those agreements after examining systemic misconduct following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

She also withdrew misconduct findings involving six other police departments.

Voting rights became another major focus during Dhillon’s tenure. Her division filed 31 lawsuits against mostly Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., seeking access to unredacted voter registration records.

Justice Department lawyers argued that the records would help states comply with federal laws requiring accurate voter lists. However, they later acknowledged in court that the department planned to share the information with the Department of Homeland Security for criminal and immigration enforcement.

The Justice Department has lost 27 of those cases so far.

During Tuesday’s midterm elections, the division also deployed more than 1,000 election monitors to polling locations nationwide. The effort marked a record deployment and required volunteers from other Justice Department agencies, including the Bureau of Prisons and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

However, questions emerged about Dhillon’s involvement in the monitoring effort. She did not attend a Justice Department election integrity briefing for journalists. Furthermore, a September memo showed that the Office of the Deputy Attorney General had sought volunteers for the program, which the Civil Rights Division traditionally managed.

A senior Justice Department official rejected suggestions that the department had removed election responsibilities from Dhillon. The official said the department had distributed resources to manage increased workloads.

Dhillon also faced criticism over the division’s response to fatal shootings involving immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis.

After federal agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti during protests against the administration’s immigration crackdown, the division initially declined to open criminal civil rights investigations. The decision departed from longstanding practice in high-profile police shootings.

The division later joined the Pretti investigation after criticism over Homeland Security Investigations leading a probe involving its own agency. No charges have been filed in the case so far.

Stacey Young, a former division attorney who founded Justice Connection, strongly criticized Dhillon’s leadership. She said Dhillon had severely damaged an institution responsible for enforcing civil rights protections for nearly 70 years.

Dhillon, a longtime Trump ally and former San Francisco law firm owner, frequently used social media to discuss investigations and announce new cases. She also distributed challenge coins featuring the phrase “FAFO” to fellow Justice Department attorneys.

Despite leaving the position, Dhillon said she intends to continue fighting for the country in the coming years.