Harmeet Dhillon is out at the Justice Department, and some of the harshest send-offs are coming from her own side.
Dhillon announced on Wednesday that she was resigning as assistant attorney general for civil rights.
“Serving my country as AAG for Civil Rights has been the honor of a lifetime,” she wrote on X. “We ushered in the downfall of illegal DEI, we fought to protect women and girls’ sports, and so much more. I want to thank President Trump for giving me this opportunity.”
In her resignation letter, Dhillon said she had told White House chief of staff Susie Wiles that she planned to step down after the midterms. But two sources told CBS News that Trump demanded she be fired after watching her on “60 Minutes,” CBS reporter Jake Rosen noted on X.
Soon after news of her exit broke, an account identifying itself as Notre Dame College Republicans posted: “Good riddance. Moving forward, we don’t need any more demon worship at the RNC either.”
The post appeared to refer to the Sikh prayer Dhillon, a practicing Sikh, delivered at the 2024 Republican National Convention. That prayer drew a wave of bigoted attacks from parts of the right at the time.
“Stay classy, kids,” Dhillon replied Friday.
The account later deleted the post.
“Update — these children deleted their racist post,” Dhillon wrote. “I had constraints in government on what I could say. They are over.”
Avik Roy, president of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, replied: “Liberation Day for Harmeet is going to be epic!”
“That was yesterday!” Dhillon shot back. “Today I’m already starting to sue people!”
Michael Caputo, a former Trump administration official, also came to her defense: “I apologize for these children at @NDRepublicans. No actual grown up, devout Catholic would post this stupidity.”
Judge Cory Liu wrote: “The racism against Harmeet Dhillon has been so ugly. The Republican Party must recenter itself on its commitment to color blindness.”
Others on the right piled on anyway. Kyle Seraphin, a former FBI agent turned right-wing podcaster, shared screenshots of the exchange and called Dhillon “a petty b----.”
“I’m super psyched she was ‘protecting our civil rights’ and ‘ending DEI,’” Seraphin wrote. “A 2x divorced, California-based lady from India didn’t know she was a DEI hire.”
Dhillon also faced criticism from the left. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) wrote that Dhillon “made a mockery of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division by attacking diversity, equity, and inclusion and bullying states into disenfranchising voters.”
“She will not be missed. Enjoy your knitting,” Jayapal added, a jab at Dhillon’s X bio, which describes her as a knitter.
“Grow up, Pramila,” Dhillon fired back. “Bullying and trolling are not really the role of members of Congress. You are a public servant. Act like it. By the way, knitting is a skill. Acquiring some skills is part of a healthy, balanced life. I recommend this to you. No need to be hateful all day!”