Trump fires judge-picked US attorney as top DOJ official warns courts to stay in their lane

The Justice Department announced Friday the firing of a second court-appointed U.S. attorney in as many weeks, revealing the swift removal of another prosecutor selected by federal judges to lead a district.

The judges in the Eastern District of Virginia had chosen veteran lawyer James Hundley to fill the vacancy left by Trump-appointee Lindsey Halligan, who stepped down from the role last month after the court said she was illegitimately serving. A top DOJ official quickly announced Hundley's termination on social media, intensifying the ongoing fight between the executive and judicial branches over who has authority to choose the top prosecutors in each of the 93 federal court districts.

"Here we go again. EDVA judges do not pick our US Attorney. POTUS does. James Hundley, you're fired!" Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X.

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Blanche's comment echoed a similar one he made when announcing the termination of Donald Kinsella after judges in the Northern District of New York chose him to replace Trump appointee John Sarcone, whom they also disqualified.

Constitutional scholar John Yoo recently told Fox News Digital that while the law gives judges the authority to choose a lawyer to fill a U.S. attorney vacancy, the Constitution and court precedent clearly grant the president - not the attorney general or deputy attorney general - the power to dismiss U.S. attorneys at will.

Underscoring that the decision had come from the president was Dan Scavino, the head of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, who told Hundley through a social media post, "Check your email James," after Blanche announced Hundley's termination.

Halligan's and Sarcone's absences have left DOJ leadership, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Blanche, to serve as signatories on court filings in those districts as the Senate fails to confirm Trump's preferred nominees to serve in them and several other blue state districts, where the home state senators must approve of the nominees under the upper chamber's blue slip tradition.

In a similar scenario, the court disqualified Trump appointee Alina Habba, and DOJ leadership responded by assigning three department officials to assume the duties of the U.S. attorney there.

The DOJ initially also appealed the decision to disqualify Habba, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a lower court ruling on it, and the department has not at this stage sought relief from the Supreme Court.