Former Attorney General Eric Holder said on MS NOW's "The Weekend" on Sunday, Oct. 25, that the people Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has hired in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division "got to go." He said "this is not a time for timidity" and that the power the Supreme Court has given the executive branch should be used by "hopefully, the next Democratic president" to restore the department's norms.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder railed against the individuals Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon hired for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, say they “got to go.”
During a Sunday appearance on MS NOW’s “The Weekend,” Holder indicated it would “take some time to rebuild the reputation of the Justice Department” and that “Given all of the power that this Supreme Court has given to the executive branch, you can certainly make huge personnel changes within the Justice Department.”
The best endorsement of the effectiveness of Harmeet Dhillon at DOJ: that Eric Holder is trashing her priorities and staff. Holder used the Civil Rts Div as a cudgel for the Left. Harmeet investigates clear constitutional and statutory abuses.
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) October 25, 2026
“All those people who Harmeet Dhillon has hired, for instance, in the Civil Rights Division, and turned around what the historic mission of that division has been, they got to go,” Holder continued. “They just got to go.”
The former attorney general stressed that “This is not a time for timidity” and that “The power that the Supreme Court has given to the executive branch, to the president, has got to be used by hopefully the next Democratic president to restore some sense of order, balance, and the norms that have governed the Justice Department for decades.”
Obama’s AG just laid out the Democratic plan. Eric Holder on MS NOW about Harmeet Dhillon's hires at DOJ: "They got to go. They just got to go. This is not a time for timidity." They want the power back to purge. https://t.co/XRD9J6wkPT
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) October 25, 2026
What’s interesting about Holder’s comments is that they reflect those of other Democrats who slammed the Trump administration for laying off and firing personnel. They accused President Donald Trump of firing those who might have differing political views or priorities.
Yet, here Holder is calling for the same thing.
Obama’s AG just laid out the Democratic plan. Eric Holder on MS NOW about Harmeet Dhillon's hires at DOJ: "They got to go. They just got to go. This is not a time for timidity." They want the power back to purge. https://t.co/XRD9J6wkPT
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) October 25, 2026
The Senate confirmed Dhillon to lead the Civil Rights Division in a 52-45 vote in April 2025. Since then, she has shifted the division's priorities. Dhillon has said she recruited "over a hundred great legal professionals" to rebuild the division.