A spiteful feud involving two Donald Trump loyalists working at the Department of Justice has been exposed.
A lengthy profile in The New York Times on Harmeet Dhillon, a 2020 election denier whom Trump picked as assistant attorney general for civil rights, revealed her involvement in a “bitter conflict” with Leo Terrell, a former Fox News contributor turned senior counsel in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
Terrell, who also heads the DOJ’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, is said to have frequently complained to former Attorney General Pam Bondi about Dhillon’s disrespectful treatment of him, forwarding Bondi some harsh emails to back up his claims.
Dhillon is reported to have badmouthed Terrell to Bondi and anyone else who would listen, complaining that Terrell was not qualified for his job, sources told the Times.
Terrell and Dhillon, who have been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s crackdown on alleged antisemitism on U.S. college campuses, also clashed over the government’s negotiations with Columbia University.
The Ivy League university agreed to a deal with the Trump administration in July 2025 to restore $400 million in federal funding that had been cut after the school was accused of allowing antisemitism to fester on campus in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.
In mid-2025, a top aide for Dhillon also warned Terrell that he could be fired if he continued appearing on Fox News without permission. Terrell suggested that Dhillon was jealous of him because she was not getting enough airtime on Trump’s favorite network.
The pair’s relationship has become so strained that they have barely spoken since early last summer, the Times reported.
Elsewhere, there was also a bizarre incident involving one of Terrell’s most trusted aides. A career official working for Dhillon told Terrell’s aide that she would have to leave his staff.
After being made aware of the potential move, Terrell complained directly to Trump, and the aide ultimately remained in her position.
But the situation escalated when the aide was later summoned again and asked an unusual question: whether Terrell had ever asked her to follow him into a bathroom to take notes. She denied it, saying the incident had never happened.
In a statement, DOJ spokesperson Emily Covington said Dhillon and her team had “secured historic results for the American people” and that their “record speaks for itself.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.
