The Department of Justice (DoJ)'s civil rights division is reportedly facing significant internal disruption. This unrest is linked to a shift in focus away from police and voting-rights cases and towards culture-war topics such as discrimination against Christians and transgender participation in sports. As a result, over half of the division's lawyers are anticipated to resign, according to an articled published in The Bulwark Tuesday.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who runs this crucial division, has been unusually active on the social platform X amid this crisis.
"Like Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon, Dhillon represents an experiment in whether right-wing media personalities can transfer their attention-seeking skills into running the federal government," said the Bulwark article, written by journalist Will Sommer.
Sommer described Dhillon as "a California lawyer who became prominent in MAGA media for championing conservative legal cases, especially opposition to COVID mandate."
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Dhillon, who has over 1 million followers on X, has posted on the platform more than 263 times, per the report, excluding the content she has re-posted.
Dhillon frequently engages in online arguments on X, where she appears to have little tolerance for criticism. She told social media users who criticized her that she has "muted" them for general impoliteness or "dimwittery."
In one instance, the piece notes, this applied to someone who responded to a post by Dinesh D'Souza rather than one of hers.
In an April post, Dhillon solicited suggestions from her followers about which podcasts and television programs she should prioritize for media appearances.
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“Do something,” replied a user to her post, adding: “Is the entire DOJ obsessed with TV hits??”
“Muted for being a jerk,” Dhillon said in response.
Since taking office, she has publicly stated that she has muted 30 individuals and blocked one, averaging 1.35 blocks or mutes daily.
Meanwhile, Dhillon has acknowledged that the civil rights division is facing a severe exodus of employees. During an interview on Glenn Beck's podcast, Dhillon said approximately 100 lawyers have already resigned and more are expected to quit. She suggested that up to 70 percent of the division's staff could ultimately depart.
AlterNet reached out to a DoJ spokesperson for comment.