Uttam Dhillon


Uttam Anthony Singh Dhillon is an American attorney and former law enforcement official. He served as Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration from July 2, 2018, to May 18, 2020. He is married to Janet Dhillon, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Education

Dhillon earned a BA in psychology from California State University, Sacramento, followed by an MA in psychology from the University of California, San Diego. Dhillon then earned his Juris Doctor from the UC Berkeley School of Law.

Career

From 1990 to 1997, Dhillon served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, where he prosecuted major narcotics cases. Dhillon was appointed to the Department of Justice's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. As part of the task force, he coordinated with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to direct complex investigations of violent gangs and major narcotics trafficking organizations.
Following his time in California, Dhillon served as a Senior Investigative Counsel for the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform from 1997 to 1998, and the Policy Director for the House Republican Policy Committee in 2002. In 2003, he served as Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director of the United States House Committee on Homeland Security. In 2006, Dhillon became the first Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement at the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Dhillon worked with President Donald Trump as Deputy Counsel and Deputy Assistant to the President. In 2018, Dhillon was appointed as the acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. He resigned his position to take another DOJ role in May 2020.