The deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, takes a question during a news conference at Washington, D.C., on January 30, 2026. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
The conflict between the Trump administration and the judicial branch over who can lead the Justice Department’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia reached a new stage Friday, after a panel of judges appointed an interim top prosecutor — and the administration fired him soon after.
It’s the second time this month that the administration has quickly sacked a prosecutor who was picked by federal judges, as the administration deals with several court orders asserting that its temporary U.S. attorneys were serving in their roles unlawfully.
Judges in the Eastern District of Virginia announced Friday that they had unanimously decided to hire veteran litigator James W. Hundley to serve as interim U.S. attorney. They cited a federal law that allows district court judges to appoint somebody to the role if it becomes vacant because a prior interim U.S. attorney’s term had expired.
Shortly after the appointment was announced on Friday evening, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on X that Hundley was fired.
“Here we go again,” Blanche wrote. “EDVA judges do not pick our US Attorney. POTUS does. James Hundley, you’re fired!”
CBS News has reached out to Hundley for comment.
The leadership of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has been in doubt for months, since interim U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned in September after he raised concerns about the strength of the evidence following criminal investigations into former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Former White House aide Lindsey Halligan was named interim U.S. attorney shortly after Siebert’s departure. Over the following weeks, the office drew nationwide attention and intense scrutiny after Halligan alone secured grand jury indictments for Comey and James, two longtime Trump foes.
A judge tossed out those indictments in November, finding that Halligan had been unlawfully appointed to her role as the district’s top prosecutor. Under federal law, the role of interim U.S. attorney is limited to 120 days — and according to U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie, that clock started ticking when Siebert was appointed in January 2025. In Siebert’s case, he was allowed to stay in the role for longer, because the judges in the district extended his appointment.
The Justice Department has argued that it has the legal right to appoint interim U.S. attorneys as it sees fit, unless the Senate refuses to confirm its appointee. But Currie said that interpretation would let the government avoid the Senate confirmation process that’s normally required for permanent U.S. attorneys by just “stacking successive 120-day appointments.”
The Justice Department appealed Currie’s decision.
After that, Halligan continued to refer to herself as a U.S. attorney, sparking a dramatic back-and-forth between the government and U.S. District Judge David Novak last month.
The Trump-appointed judge ordered Halligan to explain why she kept using the title. The Justice Department responded by accusing Novak of engaging in a “gross abuse of power” and attempting to use a “cudgel” against the executive branch.
Novak hit back, writing that the Justice Department’s filing “contains a level of vitriol more appropriate for a cable news talk show.” He added that Halligan could face disciplinary proceedings if she kept using the “improper moniker.”
Hours after Novak’s response, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Halligan had exited the Justice Department, citing circumstances that she called “deeply misguided.”
Virginia is one of at least five states where federal judges have ruled that a Trump administration-appointed temporary U.S. attorney is serving in their role unlawfully, with similar orders issued in New York, New Jersey, California and Nevada.
Critics have accused the administration of sidestepping the Senate’s confirmation process for U.S. attorneys. But the Justice Department argues that the president and attorney general have the authority to choose their own prosecutors. In some cases, Mr. Trump has also accused Senate Democrats of obstructing his nominees.
Last week, a panel of judges appointed somebody to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York after the job was left vacant due to a court order. In a series of events similar to Friday’s, Blanche almost immediately announced the new hire had been fired.
“Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, [the president] does. See Article II of our Constitution,” Blanche wrote in a post on X.
CBS
