Washington DC, Nov. 5 -- Harmeet Dhillon has resigned as head of the US Justice Department's Civil Rights Division after serving for around 18 months.

Her departure comes days after Republicans suffered a setback in the midterm elections, in which Democrats secured control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, according to The Washington Post.

US Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Dhillon's resignation on Thursday (local time), acknowledging her contributions to the department and her leadership of the Civil Rights Division.

"Today, I accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who led the Civil Rights Division with conviction the past 18 months. She has defended the civil liberties of ev...