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Harmeet Dhillon

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Harmeet Dhillon
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division
Presumptive nominee
Assuming office
TBD
PresidentDonald Trump
SucceedingKristen Clarke
Personal details
Born
Harmeet Kaur Dhillon

1969 (age 54–55)
Chandigarh, India
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Kanwarjit Singh
​
(div. 2003)​

Sarv Randhawa
​
​
(m. 2011; died 2024)​
EducationDartmouth College (BA)
University of Virginia (JD)
WebsiteOfficial website

Harmeet Kaur Dhillon (born 1969) is an American lawyer and Republican Party official. She is the former vice chair of the California Republican Party, and a National Committeewoman of the Republican National Committee for California.[1][2] She is the founder of a law practice called Dhillon Law Group Inc.[3] In 2018, she helped launch the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Center for American Liberty, which does legal work related to civil liberties.[4] She is a regular guest on Fox News.[5]

During the coronavirus pandemic, she filed numerous unsuccessful lawsuits to halt the implementation of stay-at-home-orders and other restrictions. She criticized face masks requirements, called for the re-opening of the economy, and opposed mail in voting.[5][6][7]

In the January 2023 election, Dhillon unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Ronna McDaniel as chair of the Republican National Committee. In December, 2024, Donald Trump nominated Dhillon to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

Early life

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Dhillon was born in Chandigarh, India to a Punjabi Sikh family in 1969.[8] Her family moved to the United States when she was a child so that her father, Tejpal Singh Dhillon could pursue a career as an orthopedic surgeon. Dhillon attended elementary school in The Bronx, New York before her family eventually settling in Smithfield, North Carolina.[9]

Education

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After finishing high school at age 16, she attended Dartmouth College. She became a writer and eventually editor-in-chief at The Dartmouth Review.

During her tenure at The Review, a satirical column criticizing the school's President and the policies of his administration generated controversy. In the column, Dartmouth College President James O. Freedman, who was Jewish, was likened to Adolf Hitler due to the alleged discriminatory policies of his administration against conservatives. These policies were referred to by the column as a "holocaust" and the "Final Solution to the Conservative Problem". The column also characterized conservatives at Dartmouth as being "deported in cattle cars in the night".

Dhillon claimed that the column sought to draw parallels between so-called "liberal fascism" and fascism. She stated that there was no intention to minimize the horrors of the Holocaust, rather the column sought to demonstrate the mistreatment that conservative students faced under President Freedman's administration.[10] After graduating from Dartmouth, she attended law school, graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law where she was on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review. After law school, she clerked for Judge Paul Victor Niemeyer of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.[8][11]

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Lawsuits

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Dhillon filed a lawsuit in April 2017 against University of California, Berkeley on behalf of the Berkeley College Republicans (BCR) and Young America's Foundation for freedom of speech issues, particularly the school cancelling Ann Coulter's speech quoting security reasons.[12] The suit was settled in December 2018, with Dhillon arguing that it had forced the university to change its policies about controversial speakers, whereas the university maintained that it had already been following the amended policies before.[13]

In August 2017, James Damore, a former Google employee, hired Dhillon to be his lawyer against Google. Dhillon's firm has said it is also willing to represent more employees from Google who have similar stories to Damore,[14] though Dhillon has already lost an appeal to the National Labor Relations Board.[15] Damore's lawsuit against Google also was dismissed pursuant to a mandatory arbitration clause; however, the case continues without him.[16][17]

Conservative social media activist and journalist Andy Ngo retained Dhillon as his attorney after being assaulted on the street in Portland, Oregon, in June 2019.[18] In June 2020, Dhillon filed suit on behalf of Ngo against antifa seeking $900,000 in damages for assault and emotional distress, and an injunction to prevent further harassment. The lawsuit cites Rose City Antifa, five other named defendants, and additional unknown assailants. It stems from multiple alleged attacks on Ngo in Portland during 2019, and accuses Rose City Antifa in particular of a "pattern of racketeering activities".[19]

COVID-19 pandemic

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dhillon was behind many lawsuits challenging California’s response to the pandemic including restrictions imposed by stay-at-home orders.[5] By June 2020, she had filed more than a dozen lawsuits against California.

On April 13 and 24, 2020, Dhillon filed suits against the state of California challenging its stay-at-home order.[20][4][6] On behalf of two pastors in Riverside County, two parishioners in San Bernardino County, and seven businesses, including restaurants, a pet grooming shop, and a gondola company, she argued that their constitutional rights were being violated.[20] Dhillon also filed lawsuits against the governors of New Jersey and Virginia over their restrictions on religious services.[4] Most of these lawsuits were filed through the Center for American Liberty.[4] Dhillon later argued that her lawsuits led to "large sectors of California’s economy opening up much sooner than the governor originally intended", which in the assessment of The New York Times contributed to an "alarming surge in cases" in the second half of June.[21] She criticized California's decision to send mail-in ballots to all registered voters for the 2020 election and, regarding California’s approach to the pandemic, she asserted it uncovered its propensity to overreach — and the delicate essence of civil rights, stating, “The Constitution is not suspended in a pandemic, any more than it was suspended in every war that we’ve had in this country.’’[6] In July 2020, it was reported that she was suing state and local governments in California to keep nail salons and barbers open and to prevent the closure of schools during the pandemic.[22]

In May 2020, Dhillon criticized Virginia for requiring the use of face masks in public. She claimed that "the masks don't work" (contradicting the recommendation of health experts and the US CDC).[23]

In June 2020, she criticized California for requiring the use of face masks in public when individuals were unable to physically distance.[24] She argued that people should be free to make their own decisions.[7] She called on California to reopen its economy, even though coronavirus cases were surging.[7] In July 2020, she said that she was considering filing a lawsuit over a restriction on singing or chanting in church to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.[25]

She filed a lawsuit against Hawaii when the state required that visitors to Hawaii undergo quarantine upon arrival. In July 2020, a judge ruled that the emergency mandate was a reasonable response to the public health threat posed by the coronavirus.[26]

Pandemic PPP Funding of Dhillon's law firm

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dhillon Law Group (located in California) was the recipient of a federal loan under the Paycheck Protection Program, in the amount of between $150k-350k, in April 2020, through Hiawatha National Bank,[27] a small regional bank located in Hager City, Wisconsin with 5 branches.[28] DLG is located in California, with offices in New York, New Jersey, Florida, and Virginia, with no apparent business (or client) nexus in Wisconsin or other known banking relationship with Hiawatha (which made 95 total PPP loans, mostly in the Upper Midwest - the total being a considerable loan portfolio for a very small regional bank capitalized at ~$150MM). It is not clear whether DLG repaid the taxpayer funds.

Detransitioning case

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On February 22, 2023, Dhillon's firm filed a lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente over misinforming and medical damage experienced by 18-year-old detransitioner Chloe Cole of Central Valley, California. The letter of intent to sue — addressed to Kaiser, a named endocrinologist, a named psychiatrist and a named plastic surgeon — claimed that Cole suffers from ongoing health effects from off-label use of prescription drugs. Cole says she was not properly informed as to potential negative effects of the puberty blockers and testosterone she was given at age 13. She also had a double mastectomy as a gender-affirming surgery at age 15 (legal in California). The lawsuit claims that Cole did not give informed consent and that she was under extreme duress to accede to the medical treatments.[29][30][31][32]

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She was a legal adviser on the Trump 2020 campaign. While the Trump campaign was making claims of voter fraud during the 2020 election (as the ballots were being counted), Dhillon said the campaign was hoping that the Supreme Court, including Trump-appointed justices such as Amy Coney Barrett, would help Trump win the presidency.[33][34][35]

Carlson lawsuit

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in 2023, Dhillon was hired by Tucker Carlson to represent him in a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg.[36]

Political Career

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2000 - 2010

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2008 California Assembly

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In 2008, Dhillon ran for a seat in the California Assembly. She lost the race, garnering 17% of the vote in the traditionally Democratic district.[37] She ran for the California Senate in 2012, but was again unsuccessful.[38] She served as the chair of the San Francisco Republican Party.[4]

Dhillon became a board member of the northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union after the September 11 attacks, in connection with her work on discrimination against Sikhs and other South Asians, and stayed on the board for three years.[4][38] She has been heavily criticized by Republican activists for her ties to the ACLU, as well as her past contributions to the political campaigning of Kamala Harris.[39]

2010 - 2020

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California Republican Party

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Dhillon with President Donald Trump in 2019

Dhillon was chosen to be a member of the California Republican Party's Board in 2013; she became a national committeewoman for the Republican National Committee in 2016.[2][4] She also gave the opening prayer at the 2016 Republican National Convention.[40]

In early 2017, Dhillon interviewed to be the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Department of Justice.[41] She was not nominated for the position.

Dhillon led the successful effort to remove Chad Mayes as the California State Assembly Republican caucus leader in August 2017.[42][43]

On July 11, 2019, Dhillon gave a speech at the President Trump's "Social Media Summit".[44][6] Dhillon is a co-chair of Women for Trump.[4] She has described Laura Ingraham as a "long-time mentor."[5]

2020 to present

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In December 2022, Dhillon announced her candidacy to replace Ronna McDaniel as chairperson of the Republican National Committee.[45] In January 2023, Dhillon reportedly faced a whisper campaign from supporters of McDaniel and of Mike Lindell focusing on her Sikh faith. On January 11, 2023, McDaniel disavowed the attacks, citing her own minority Mormon faith.[46][47] On January 27, 2023, Dhillon would lose to McDaniel in a 111–51 vote.[48]

Dhillon performed a Sikh prayer, the Ardās, at the 2024 Republican National Convention.[49] It was met with backlash on social media by far-right political figures such as Lauren Witzke, Nick Fuentes, and Stew Peters.[50][51]

In October 2024, Dhillon took part in an interview with Tucker Carlson on The Tucker Carlson Show to discuss criticisms of Kamala Harris in both her political and legal career.[52]

In October 2024, Dhillon was chosen by the Arizona Republican Party to run its election integrity operation.[53]

On December 9, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Dhillon to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Department of Justice[54] If confirmed, Dhillon will be the first Republican woman and first Republican of Indian descent to lead the division.

Personal life

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Dhillon's second marriage to Kanwarjit Singh in 1994 ended in divorce in 2003.[55] Her third marriage was to Sarvjit Singh Randhawa, lasting 16 years.[56][57] Randhawa passed away in 2024 after battling Parkinson's disease and cancer.[58][59]

References

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  1. ^ Mehta, Seema (July 19, 2016). "California lawyer delivers Sikh prayer at GOP convention". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon". GOP. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  3. ^ "Litigation Boutique Firm - Legal Services | Dhillon Law Group". Dhillon Law Group. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Ronayne, Kathleen (May 29, 2020). "GOP lawyer fights California governor on stay-at-home orders". Associated Press. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Christopher, Ben (12 May 2020). "Churches, gunshops and irate brides: All the shutdown lawsuits against Newsom, explained". abc10.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d Marinucci, Carla (May 29, 2020). "Conservatives turn to San Francisco lawyer to fight coronavirus orders". Politico. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "Reactions to Gov. Newsom's Statewide Mask Mandate". NBC Bay Area. 19 June 2020. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Anderson, Bruce (May 2013). "The Outsider". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  9. ^ Garofoli, Joe (24 April 2011). "Harmeet Dhillon, Republican leader with S.F. twist". SFGate. Her father, Tejpal Singh Dhillon, was educated in England and the United States. After he finished his medical education in the Bronx - where his daughter attended a predominantly Jewish elementary school - some of his former classmates invited him to Smithfield, N.C., population 10,000 at the time, which needed an orthopedic surgeon.
  10. ^ Gold, Allan R. (November 6, 1988). "Satire by Dartmouth Publication Under Heavy Fire as Anti-Semitic". The New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  11. ^ "Harmeet K. Dhillon". libertycenter.org. The Center for American Liberty. 16 August 2019. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  12. ^ Svrluga, Susan; Wan, William (April 24, 2017). "Lawsuit filed against UC Berkeley for canceling Ann Coulter speech". Washington Post. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
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  20. ^ a b Egelko, Bob. "California experts question legal basis for Barr's plan to challenge coronavirus shelter orders". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
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  22. ^ "Parents sue Newsom over pandemic school closure order". FOX 5 San Diego. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  23. ^ "Fox News' Laura Ingraham claims Democrats will make Americans wear masks 'forever'". theweek.com. May 27, 2020. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  24. ^ "California's mask order tests the limits of Newsom's executive power". Los Angeles Times. June 29, 2020. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  25. ^ "Church singing ban strikes sour note with California pastor". ABC News. 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
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  27. ^ "Follow the money: See where $380B in Paycheck Protection Program money went". www.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-03. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  28. ^ "Hiawatha National Bank - 5 Locations, Hours, Phone Numbers …". www.branchspot.com. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  29. ^ Fairley, Juliette. "Trans teen who regrets double mastectomy is poised to sue Kaiser Permanente". Southern California Record. Archived from the original on 2024-07-18. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  30. ^ "Why detransitioners are crucial to the science of gender care". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  31. ^ "Chloe Cole v. Kaiser Permanente". Dhillon Law Group. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  32. ^ LiMandri and Jonna 'NINETY DAY NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUE PURSUANT TO C.C.P. § 364', November 9, 2022 https://www.dhillonlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Letter-of-Intent-Chloe-Cole.pdf Archived 2024-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ Totenberg, Nina (7 November 2020). "Will This Election Be A Replay Of Bush v. Gore At The Supreme Court? Not Likely". NPR. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  34. ^ Wilstein, Matt (November 5, 2020). "Trump Lawyer Calls for Supreme Court to 'Step in and Do Something'". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  35. ^ Swenson, Ali (November 19, 2020). "AP Fact Check: Trump legal team's batch of false vote claims". AP News. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  36. ^ Slisco, Alisa (22 May 2023). "Tucker Carlson Sends Legal Threat to PAC Urging Him to Run for President". Newsweek.
  37. ^ Garofoli, Joe (April 24, 2011). "Harmeet Dhillon, Republican leader with S.F. twist". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  38. ^ a b Anderson, Bruce. "Former Review editor Harmeet Dhillon '89 leads the Republican Party in one of the nation's most liberal cities". Dartmouth Alumni magazine. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017. May - Jun 2013
  39. ^ Garofoli, Joe (February 5, 2013). "S.F. GOP leader SLAMMED by Republicans". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  40. ^ "California lawyer delivers Sikh prayer at GOP convention". Los Angeles Times. 2016-07-19. Archived from the original on 2024-07-18. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  41. ^ Cadelago, Christopher (March 10, 2017). "Harmeet Dhillon, California Republican leader, a candidate for Justice Department post". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  42. ^ Megerian, Chris. "California Republicans tell Assembly GOP leader Chad Mayes to step down". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  43. ^ "California Republican lawmakers oust Chad Mayes over climate-deal rift". The Mercury News. August 24, 2017. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  44. ^ Schwartz, Ian (July 11, 2019). "Full Video: President Trump Speaks At Social Media Summit At White House". www.realclearpolitics.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  45. ^ Navarro, Aaron; Watson, Kathryn (December 7, 2022). "Ronna McDaniel faces two challengers to lead RNC after Lee Zeldin announces he won't run". CBS News. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  46. ^ Natalie, Allison (January 11, 2023). "Whisper campaign about RNC chair candidate's Sikh faith roils campaign". Politico. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  47. ^ Caputo, Marc (January 11, 2023). "Harmeet Dhillon addresses 'concerns that have been raised' about her Sikh faith in RNC chair race". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  48. ^ Mehta, Seema (January 27, 2023). "Ronna Romney McDaniel defeats California attorney in national GOP leadership race". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  49. ^ De, Anushka. "Republican Harmeet Dhillon Leads Sikh Prayers At Convention, Trump Present". ndtv.com. NDTV. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  50. ^ "'Pagan blasphemer': Indian-American Harmeet Dhillon slammed for offering 'Ardas' at RNC". firstpost.com. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  51. ^ Wilson, Jason (July 18, 2024). "Barrage of hate from far-right Trumpists to Sikh prayer at Republican convention". The Guardian. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  52. ^ "Harmeet Dhillon Breaks Down Kamala Harris's Entire Career History". Tucker Carlson.
  53. ^ Duda, Jeremy. "Trump picks Dhillon to lead AZ election integrity program". Axios Phoneix.
  54. ^ Penn, Ben. "Trump Taps His Lawyer Dhillon to Lead DOJ Civil Rights Division". Bloomberg Law.
  55. ^ Levine, Daniel S. (10 March 2017). "Harmeet Dhillon: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  56. ^ https://x.com/pnjaban/status/18194765818969 [bare URL]
  57. ^ "Republican activist takes on class-action suit against Google". India Abroad. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  58. ^ "Harmeet K. Dhillon Mourns the Loss of Her Beloved Husband Sarvjit Singh Randhawa | Dhillon Law Group USA". Political Hub.
  59. ^ Powell, Chris (16 August 2024). "Pro-Trump Lawyer Harmeet Dhillon Reveals Sad News". TrendingPolitics.
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