Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, has resigned after growing frustrated that she was not elevated to a more powerful administration position, according to multiple sources who spoke with MS NOW.

Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the resignation Thursday, confirming Dhillon’s departure from the Civil Rights Division. Her exit follows private complaints about her prospects for advancement and tensions with other senior Justice Department officials.

“Today, I accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who led the Civil Rights Division with conviction the past 18 months,” Blanche wrote in a post on X.

Blanche offered a favorable public assessment of Dhillon’s tenure while announcing that he had accepted her resignation. “She has defended the civil liberties of every American and enforced the law without fear or favor.”

Before the midterm elections, Dhillon had told administration colleagues that she intended to leave, multiple sources told MS NOW. Her departure was therefore discussed inside the administration before Blanche made it public Thursday.

Dhillon had become increasingly frustrated because she was not promoted to deputy attorney general or given another higher position, according to the sources. She had expected to receive such an elevation but remained assistant attorney general for civil rights.

That frustration was not the only strain described by people familiar with the situation. Dhillon also had significant tension with Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, according to those who spoke with MS NOW.

Dhillon complained about both Blanche and Woodward to White House officials, the people said. The reported complaints placed her dissatisfaction before officials beyond the Justice Department as she considered her departure.

She also shared her intention to leave with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, according to a senior administration official. That official spoke with MS NOW on the condition of anonymity because the discussion involved sensitive personnel matters.

The timing has created another complication for an administration already dealing with the results of the midterm elections. Some White House leaders view Dhillon’s departure as an embarrassment for the administration, according to the report.

Those concerns are tied to the president’s recent drubbing in the midterms, which produced a historic wave of Democratic victories. Democrats flipped both the House and Senate, taking control of the two chambers.

Dhillon’s resignation therefore arrives as the administration faces an altered political landscape in Congress. The report does not say that the election results caused her resignation, only that some White House leaders consider the timing embarrassing given those losses.

The circumstances surrounding her exit show a divide between the administration’s public sendoff and the private frustrations described by sources. Blanche praised her leadership and enforcement record, while multiple sources said Dhillon had become increasingly unhappy about not receiving a promotion.

Her reported tensions with Blanche and Woodward also formed part of the personnel friction preceding the resignation. Dhillon had taken those complaints to White House officials and separately informed Wiles that she intended to depart.

MS NOW said it reached out to both the Justice Department and the White House. The outlet characterized the report as a developing story and said additional updates could follow.

The report was produced by Paula Reid, MS NOW’s chief White House reporter, Carol Leonnig, a senior investigative reporter with MS NOW, and Mychael Schnell, a congressional reporter for the outlet. Their reporting relied on multiple sources, including the senior administration official who requested anonymity.