Schweizer: Harmeet Dhillon Taking on the Legal ‘Deep State’ at the Department of Justice
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), is cleaning out the politicized division with a focus on ending the DOJ’s George Floyd-era agreements with police departments that have turned several cities into crime-ridden hellholes.
Joining hosts Peter Schweizer and Eric Eggers on the latest episode of the Drill Down podcast, Dhillon says that consent decrees and Biden-era meddling with law enforcement are “an immediate horror story for law-abiding citizens.”
And it’s all coming out of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
“When people think about the ‘Deep State,’ they tend to think about the Pentagon or the intelligence community or some of the stuff that DOGE is shaking up,” Schweizer says. “But, in a lot of respects, the legal ‘Deep State’ is exactly where you are: the Civil Rights Division,” Schweizer says of Dhillon.
Dhillon is overhauling the Civil Rights Division at the DOJ — and she’s not sugarcoating it. Career lawyers loyal to Obama-era agendas refused to follow orders, so over 200 quit. Dhillon makes it clear: Trump won, priorities changed, and civil rights will now focus on individual liberty — not Marxist groupthink.
Under Dhillon, the DOJ is defending real civil rights. She’s cracking down on DEI, shielding girls’ sports and private spaces, and fighting antisemitism raging on college campuses. For the first time in decades, a Republican administration isn’t just playing defense — it’s taking bold, proactive steps.
And then there’s Making America Safe Again.
Dhillon is slamming the brakes on consent decrees that tie police officers’ hands and funnel millions to left-wing monitors. Cities like Seattle became lawless under these deals — cops left, crime spiked, and radicals ran wild. Her DOJ is ripping up those agreements and stopping the quiet cash flow to Democrat-aligned groups.
“Crime goes up because the bad guys know cops’ hands are tied in that city,” Dhillon said. “And this is an immediate horror story for law-abiding citizens in these communities.”
“Police don’t want to work in cities where they can’t do their jobs, so citizens are left vulnerable, and it is a recipe for disaster. So, in the Department of Justice, last week, what we did was dismiss the consent decrees that the prior DOJ had filed literally weeks or days before the inauguration of the new president,” Dhillon added.
“I think it’s a scandal what’s going on with consent decrees,” Dhillon continued. “A lot of wasted money. A lot of abusive conduct by monitors who aren’t doing their jobs correctly — and the citizens are the losers.”
Dhillon calls 2020 a breaking point. While conservatives were muzzled and churches locked down, leftist mobs flooded the streets with government blessing. She’s still furious over the abuse of power — and wants Congress to overturn the Supreme Court ruling that let governors strip away fundamental freedoms.
Dhillon made it clear that under President Trump, the Department of Justice is playing offense on civil rights, standing up for the values the American people voted for despite the enormous headwinds of the entrenched Deep State.
“It’s incredibly difficult work,” Dhillon said. “But it’s important. And rewarding.”
For more from Peter Schweizer, subscribe to The DrillDown podcast.