Harmeet Dhillon, a California attorney and prominent conservative activist, was confirmed on April 3, 2025, as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in a 52–45 Senate vote. Her appointment has sparked significant concern among LGBTQ+ rights organizations, given her extensive record of challenging transgender protections, opposing diversity initiatives, and aligning with far-right legal causes.

Harmeet Dhillon at a glance

• Location: San Francisco, California
• Party Affiliation: Republican
• Race/Ethnicity: South Asian/Indian-American
• Gender Identity: Woman
• Sexual Orientation: Straight
• Pronouns: She/Her
• LGBTQ+ Ally status: Not an ally

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• Twitter: @HarmeetKDhillon
• Instagram: @pnjaban
• Facebook: Harmeet K. Dhillon

Biography

Born in Chandigarh, India, Harmeet Dhillon immigrated to the United States as a child. She earned her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. Dhillon began her legal career in corporate law before founding the Dhillon Law Group in San Francisco, where she focuses on civil rights and constitutional litigation.

A longtime Republican activist, Dhillon served as the vice chair of the California Republican Party and gained national attention for her role in conservative legal circles. She founded the Center for American Liberty, a nonprofit organization dedicated to “defending the civil liberties of Americans left behind by civil rights legacy organizations.”

Harmeet Dhillon’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues

Dhillon’s legal and public advocacy record demonstrates a consistent opposition to LGBTQ+ rights, particularly concerning transgender individuals.

Same-sex marriage

In a March 2020 Daily Signal podcast appearance, Dhillon said that because of her Sikh faith, she believes in “traditional marriage,” a phrase that usually means marriage between a man and a woman.

When asked in a 2025 Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire if same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, Dhillon responded, “The Supreme Court so held in Obergefell v. Hodges. Obergefell is binding precedent of the Supreme Court and is entitled to respect as such.”

When asked in the same questionnaire if she would defend the right of same-sex couples to marry if confirmed to lead the Civil Rights Division, she replied, “If confirmed, I will enforce the civil rights laws in accordance with the relevant facts and law to protect the civil rights of all Americans.”

Trans children in sports

During her Senate confirmation hearing in February, Dhillon spoke against trans women athletes competing in girls’ and women’s sports.

“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,” she said.

The actual number of trans athletes playing in competitive sports is very small. Critics of anti-trans sports policies have said that banning trans women athletes from girls’ and women’s sports does nothing to address the unequal funding, sexism, and abuse that actually harm female athletes.

Transgender access to public bathrooms

Dhillon has repeatedly opposed policies that allow transgender individuals, particularly students, to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity, implying that it threatens the safety and dignity of cisgender girls and women.

Through her organization, the Center for American Liberty, Dhillon has led or supported lawsuits against school districts and organizations that permit transgender students to use facilities in accordance with their gender identity, The Independent reported. 

Dhillon’s firm also sued a Washington state YMCA on behalf of a woman who objected to a transgender employee’s presence in a women’s changing room, further illustrating her opposition to transgender-inclusive bathroom policies.