The Leadership Conference Urges Senate to Reject Harmeet Dhillon’s Nomination

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick McNeil, [email protected]

The Leadership Conference Urges Senate to Reject Harmeet Dhillon’s Nomination
Statement for the Record, New Brief Highlight Importance of Strong Civil Rights Division

WASHINGTON — The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights coalition, submitted a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee today on the nomination of Harmeet Dhillon to serve as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The statement, which was submitted ahead of Ms. Dhillon’s confirmation hearing, raises profoundly troubling aspects of her record on civil rights and strongly urges all senators to reject her nomination.

The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has the critical responsibility of enforcing our nation’s federal civil rights laws and ensuring equal justice under the law on behalf of all of our communities. At a time when multiracial democracy and fundamental rights are in jeopardy, and in the wake of Pam Bondi’s confirmation as attorney general and the actions she has already taken to undermine our rights, it is critical that the Civil Rights Division has a leader who is committed to defending the civil and human rights of all people.

“Especially at this fraught period in our nation’s history, the crucially important work of the division to enforce the promises made in our civil rights laws is more important than ever, and it requires an assistant attorney general with a demonstrated commitment to civil rights for all people,” the statement says. “Unfortunately, a careful review of her record shows that Ms. Dhillon does not possess that commitment and is unfit for this critical position. In fact, she has worked in direct opposition to civil rights throughout her career, and it is clear that she will leave behind defending the rights of our communities.”

Ms. Dhillon has focused her career on threatening the civil rights of many communities that the Civil Rights Division — known as the “crown jewel” of the DOJ — was created to defend. Her record of working to restrict voting access, helping to fuel the big lie and undermine our democracy, attacking LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive rights, and more should be disqualifying.

“The next assistant attorney general for civil rights must have a record of upholding and defending the civil rights of all people. Her work supporting President Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, her vitriolic crusade against the transgender community, her staunch opposition to reproductive freedom, and her work protecting men accused of sexual harassment paint a disturbing picture of the kind of work we can expect from the Civil Rights Division if Ms. Dhillon is confirmed,” the statement says in closing.

Since our coalition’s founding 75 years ago, The Leadership Conference has coordinated the advocacy efforts on behalf of every major civil rights law since the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which created the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and the position to which Ms. Dhillon has been nominated. The history of the division, the importance of strong leadership, and the recent whiplash in civil rights enforcement is detailed in a new brief published today by The Leadership Conference, which is available here.

The full statement is available here. The full brief — “Rights and Reversals: The Shifting Course of DOJ’s Federal Civil Rights Enforcement” — is available here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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