President Donald Trump's pick to head the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)'s Civil Rights Division plans to drop the hammer on the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) front.
As the Trump administration's civil rights enforcer, U.S. Assistant Attorney General hopeful Harmeet Dhillon says she will enforce the law against those blatantly discriminating in the name of DEI.
Questions have arisen as to how the new administration will crack down on non-compliance from federal agencies and federally funded institutions that continue their discriminatory DEI policies, practices, and programming in defiance of Trump's directive.
At her confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dhillon said that she won't tolerate the Left's racist ways—not in Trump's America. "The Department of Justice stands for justice for all Americans," she declared.
During her opening statements, Dhillon said, "The promise of equal opportunity [...] is being robbed from millions of Americans in the workplace by dangerous and oppressive ideology enabled by corrosive government dictates."
Dhillon later noted that DEI initiatives, like racial quotas, have been used to deny Americans equal access to education, employment, and other aspects of civil life. "We'll certainly be taking a close look at all of those," she said, "and enforcing the law equally in favor of all Americans."
Accordingly, as a staunch defender of constitutional rights, Dhillon vowed to challenge legal rulings she believes are wrong or statutes she sees as unconstitutional.
Committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) then asked Dhillon whether she'd hold companies accountable that discriminate on the basis of race when it comes to hiring.
"If the facts support such a prosecution or a civil litigation, I certainly would do that," Dhillon affirmed.
In an exchange with Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), she shot down the idea of using the term "reverse racism" to refer to racial discrimination against white people. Asked if "reverse racism [is] still racism," she said, "I don't even use the term reverse racism. It's just racism to discriminate on the basis of race." Dhillon stressed that civil rights protections apply to people of all races.
At another point, Dhillon lamented how generations of young Americans have been denied educational opportunities due to their immutable characteristics, such as sex and race, instead of merit, even now in the face of Supreme Court precedent that explicitly bans such "affirmative action" admission policies.
She extended the issue to antisemitism sweeping college campuses across America, in which Jewish students are being barred by professors and prevented from entering classrooms. "It is very problematic," Dhillon remarked.
Dhillon told Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) she'd take action against Title VI violations of the Civil Rights Act related to antisemitic violence. "Absolutely, senator. I would certainly commit to that," Dhillon replied.
JOSH HAWLEY: Will you commit to vigorously enforcing Title VI violations relating to anti-Semitism?
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 26, 2025
HARMEET DHILLON: Absolutely, Senator. I would certainly commit to that.pic.twitter.com/lX7qUYKAWO
Furthermore, on the matter of religious freedom, Hawley cited numerous cases of far-left abortion activists attacking pro-life pregnancy centers and Christian organizations in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. Churches, many of them Catholic, were similarly targeted, facing firebombings and acts of vandalism. "The Biden Justice Department did nothing to protect these institutions," Hawley said. "They let them twist in the wind. They allowed the violence to go on virtually unchecked."
In response, Dhillon pledged to end the disparate treatment of Americans for practicing their faith. Defending people of faith equally would be a "top priority" of hers, if confirmed, Dhillon said.
Dhillon noted that over the course of her 32-year legal career, which includes religious liberty litigation, she's won cases at the Supreme Court level defending people of faith from government tyranny and obstruction.
Dhillon also brought up the plight of women and girls pleading for protection from biological men masquerading as females. This effort includes stopping the DEI invasion of women's sports and private spaces.
"Young girls and women are seeing their dreams of hard-fought equal access to sports opportunities—of even basic privacy, modesty, and dignity in women's spaces—being sacrificed on the altar of political correctness," Dhillon said.
HARMEET DHILLON: "Young girls and women are seeing their dreams of hard-fought equal access to sports opportunities — of even basic privacy, modesty, and dignity in women’s spaces — being sacrificed on the altar of political correctness." pic.twitter.com/nD59Ux4Vwt
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 26, 2025
In her private practice, Dhillon has gone after "trans medicine" practitioners permanently disfiguring gender dysphoric children for profit. Last year, Dhillon's law firm launched a medical malpractice lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente for punitive damages to "de-transitioner" Chloe Cole, who was placed on puberty blockers and had her breasts surgically removed at the age of 15.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member