The Justice Department announced on Friday that it has terminated its second public defender in a short span, along with swiftly dismissing another prosecutor chosen by a federal judge to lead a district.
A federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia had appointed experienced attorney James Hundley to replace Lindsey Harrigan, who was selected by President Trump. Harrigan had resigned last month following a ruling that deemed his appointment illegal. Justice Department officials wasted no time in announcing Hundley’s firing on social media, intensifying an ongoing dispute between the executive and judicial branches regarding the authority to appoint top prosecutors across the 93 federal court districts.
“Here we go again. EDVA judges don’t choose U.S. attorneys. The president does. James Hundley, you’re fired!” wrote Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on X.
Blanche’s remarks mirrored those from when a judge in the Northern District of New York ordered the firing of Donald Kinsella, who had also been disqualified after being appointed to replace John Sarcone, another Trump appointee.
Constitutional law expert John Yoo mentioned recently that while judges have the power to name replacements for vacancies in U.S. attorney offices, the Constitution and prevailing case law distinctly grant the president—not the attorney general or deputy attorney general—the ability to dismiss U.S. attorneys at will.
This was asserted further by Dan Scavino, the head of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, who told Hundley via a social media post to “please check James’ email” after Blanche announced his firing.
In the wake of Harrigan’s and Sarcone’s exits, notable Justice Department figures, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Blanche, will handle signatures on court filings in upcoming cases. This change comes as the Senate has struggled to confirm Trump’s preferred candidates for several key roles, particularly in blue states, where their home state senators must approve candidates under Senate traditions.
In a similar situation, the court had also disqualified Trump appointee Alina Haba, prompting the Justice Department to assign three officials to oversee the functions of local U.S. attorneys.
The department initially appealed Haba’s disbarment decision; however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the lower court’s judgment, and no further action has been sought from the Supreme Court at this point.
