Dhillon’s DOJ Exit Puts New Second Amendment Section’s Future in Doubt

Harmeet Dhillon has resigned as head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and with her goes the only part of DOJ that has actually sued on behalf of gun owners, leaving the fate of its brand-new Second Amendment Rights Section up in the air.

Key points

• The resignation: Dhillon formally stepped down November 5, 2026, telling Fox News Digital she'd decided weeks before the midterms and had delayed at Susie Wiles's request.
• The signature case: Her division filed DOJ's first-ever affirmative gun-rights lawsuit, against the LA County Sheriff over carry-permit delays averaging 281 days, ending in an August 2026 settlement requiring four years of federal oversight.
• The new section: Dhillon stood up the Civil Rights Division's first Second Amendment Rights Section, which argued against Illinois' assault-weapon ban before the Seventh Circuit and sued D.C. over its AR-15 and suppressor bans in May 2026.
• Not a clean record: DOJ still defended the NFA and parts of the Biden-era "engaged in the business" rule, and no successor has been named for Dhillon's post.

Quick take

Dhillon's tenure gave gun owners something new: a corner of DOJ whose job was suing cities and states instead of defending them. AmmoLand's John Crump makes clear that progress isn't self-sustaining — the LA County settlement only works if someone keeps enforcing it, and the D.C. rifle case needs someone to finish it. Whoever replaces Dhillon decides whether this section is a lasting fixture or a two-year experiment.

Read the full story: John Crump