'Enemy of civil rights': This 'key cog in conservatives’ vision' will lead crucial DOJ division

Harmeet Dhillon, a far-right attorney who was confirmed by the Senate to head the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on Thursday, has been called an "enemy of civil rights" by some commentators.

Picked for the position by President Donald Trump, Dhillon was confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 52-45.

In the 2022 midterm elections, Dhillon's firm played a significant role in numerous Republican initiatives aimed at challenging election results in critical states, especially in Arizona. There, she was employed by Kari Lake, a former gubernatorial candidate, and Abraham Hamadeh, a former candidate for attorney general, both of whom denied the legitimacy of the election.

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An MSNBC article published Friday argued that this development promotes a MAGA supporter who has aimed to weaken the civil rights of many Americans to a key position that is meant to protect those rights.

"Dhillon is a key cog in conservatives’ vision for 'lawfare' — that is, weaponization of the law against political opponents," wrote Ja'han Jones, an MSNBC opinion blogger.

Jones noted that she co-chaired the group "Lawyers for Trump."

"She and her law firm have arguably been as rabid as anyone in attacking Americans’ voting rights and pushing bogus claims that Trump was cheated out of victory in the 2020 presidential election," the article said.

In late 2022, Dhillon unsuccessfully attempted to unseat Ronna McDaniel as the chair of the Republican National Committee. Dhillon’s primary argument during this campaign was that the GOP should allocate more resources for a larger team of lawyers to support conservatives in their legal battles and limit Americans' access to voting.

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"She is, in a variety of ways, an enemy of civil rights. And if you’ve been watching Trump’s other selections for top government posts, most of whom are antagonistic to the goals of the agencies they now lead, the reason Dhillon was chosen seems clear: to pervert the DOJ’s civil rights division and ensure it suits Trump’s illiberal ambitions," the MSNBC article said.

Another article published in Democracy Docket Thursday said: "Dhillon has been a fixture in the GOP and a close ally of Trump since his first administration."

"She served as a legal advisor to Trump’s 2020 campaign and, as votes were still being counted in key swing states, went on Fox Business to spread election conspiracy theories, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and help Trump win," the article added.

Before Dhillon’s confirmation, a group of 75 civil rights groups sent a letter seeking opposition to her nomination. Led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the letter said Dhillon's track record is "disqualifying."

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“Ms. Dhillon’s lack of independence and record of going after the rights of the very people that she would have the duty to defend is disqualifying,” the letter reads.

“With the attacks on our multiracial democracy and civil and human rights already underway at the DOJ, it is critical that the Civil Rights Division fulfill its responsibility to vigorously enforce the nation’s landmark civil rights laws," it added.

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