Trump’s civil rights pick, Harmeet Dhillon, says target DEI efforts may be illegal

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President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Justice Department’s civil rights division told senators that Target Corp. may have acted illegally in pledging to increase the representation of Black employees across its workforce.

Republican senators pressed Harmeet Dhillon at a hearing Wednesday, Feb. 26, about the legality of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the private sector and within government.

Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri said Target stated in 2023 it wanted to hire 20% more Black employees, which he said was “an overt racial quota system.”

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The Minneapolis-based retailer said in January that it will dial back its three-year DEI goals and won’t set them publicly going forward.

“The left is right about one thing in my view – there is systemic racism that exists in America today,” Schmitt said during Dhillon’s confirmation hearing in Washington. “It’s the pervasive racial discrimination that exists against Asians, whites and other disfavored groups that take place now on college campuses, in the board rooms of Fortune 500 companies, even in the halls of our own government.”

Schmitt then asked Dhillon, “Does Target’s practice of having racial quotas raise red flags for you?”

“If the facts are as you just described,” she said, “then I believe that practice is illegal and unconstitutional.”

A spokesperson for Target did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The exchange comes as the Justice Department under the new leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi has launched a review into DEI practices.

Bondi has asked the department’s civil rights division and office of legal policy to submit a report by Saturday on “the most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners” in “key sectors of concern.”

The report is to include specific actions to deter the use of DEI programs that constitute illegal discrimination, including potential criminal investigations or regulatory actions.

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