A San Francisco-based attorney and conservative icon will soon head to Washington, D.C., for a role in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
Trump announced Monday on social media that he is nominating Harmeet Dhillon, 56, as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. Dhillon, a Republican Party official, was a legal advisor to Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign and a co-chair of the political group Women for Trump.
In his post, Trump cited Dhillon’s work in “taking on Big Tech for censoring our Free Speech, representing Christians who were prevented from praying together during COVID, and suing corporations who use woke policies to discriminate against their workers.”
“Harmeet will be a tireless defender of our Constitutional Rights,” Trump wrote, “and will enforce our Civil Rights and Election Laws FAIRLY and FIRMLY.”
Dhillon is the second San Franciscan to be nominated to Trump’s administration. He chose tech entrepreneur David Sacks to oversee AI and crypto policy.
In an X post, Dhillon said she’s “extremely honored” by the nomination.
“It has been my dream to be able to serve our great country, and I am so excited to be part of an incredible team of lawyers led by @PamBondi,” Dhillon wrote, referring to Trump’s pick for attorney general. “I cannot wait to get to work!”
The nominations of Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, and Dhillon require approval from the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans.
Dhillon was born in India and grew up in rural North Carolina. She is known for her involvement in high-profile lawsuits, fought against Covid restrictions, threatened legal action over Lowell High School admission changes, and was the lead attorney in journalist Susan Dyer Reynolds’ lawsuit against Supervisor Dean Preston for blocking her on social media.
Dhillon was the San Francisco Republican Party’s chairwoman in the 2010s and is the incumbent Republican National Committeewoman from California. She ran unsuccessfully for the national party chair in 2023.