President Donald Trump’s U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dhillon, is investigating Governor Gavin Newsom‘s California Environmental Protect Agency (CalEPA), a state agency that develops, implements and enforces “environmental laws that regulate air, water and soil quality, pesticide use and waste recycling and reduction.”
Dhillon, a former vice chair of the California Republican Party said in a statement: “Our investigation is based on information that CalEPA may be engaged in employment practices that discriminate against employees, job applicants, and training program participants based on race, color, s-x, and national origin in violation of Title VII.”
Eric Daughtery, assistant news director at the pro-Trump media outlet Florida’s Voice, reported on the investigation with glee on social media by writing: “Assistant AG HARMEET DHILLON is now investigating Gavin Newsom’s California Environmental Protection Agency for racial-based hiring practices. They’re FAFOing. Harmeet is onto them.”
Dhillon, who told a Senate committee “either DEI will end on its own, or we will kill it,” reshared the post.
GREAT NEWS: Assistant AG HARMEET DHILLON is now investigating Gavin Newsom’s California Environmental Protection Agency for racial-based hiring practices.
They’re FAFOing. Harmeet is onto them.
“Our investigation is based on information that CalEPA may be engaged in… pic.twitter.com/QijjwdPigH
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 30, 2025
(The FAFO acronym means, in less objectionable language, “mess around, find out.” California’s response has been similar, with the state challenging the administration repeatedly in court.)
While California Attorney General Rob Bonta has yet to publicly respond to Dhillon’s investigation of CalEPA, he reported last week: “We’re 32 weeks into Trump’s second term and already we’ve had to file 39 lawsuits to hold the federal administration accountable to the law.”
The 26th lawsuit was filed after Trump signed resolutions overturning the California’s landmark electric vehicle (EV) mandate.
39 lawsuits and counting. Our commitment remains the same since day one of this administration. If and when Trump breaks the law or tramples over the Constitution, we’ll take him to court and win.https://t.co/gRB7bc6bim
— Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta) August 29, 2025
Note: Trump’s EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has proposed rescinding the agency’s 2009 climate endangerment finding, which cites scientific evidence to show that greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and methane pose a threat to human health and the environment. The endangerment finding undergirds much of current climate policy.
Arguing against rescinding the finding in a suit joined by other state attorneys general, Bonta said Zeldin’s proposal is unlawful and “relies on a draft, unvetted, scientifically unsound report from the Department of Energy to attempt to override the abundant and growing science supporting its endangerment finding and motor vehicle GHG emissions standards for over 15 years.”