The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that it fired the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia just hours after judges on the court made the appointment.
“Here we go again. EDVA judges do not pick our US Attorney. POTUS does,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a post on Feb. 20, referring to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
“James Hundley, you’re fired!”
Blanche was responding to a report that the district court had appointed Hundley to take the position that was formerly occupied by Lindsey Halligan after she stepped down earlier this year. A judge had deemed that her appointment was unlawful and tossed cases that she had overseen, including one brought against former FBI Director James Comey and one against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“FIRED,” wrote Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, as she reposted Blanche’s comment on X.
Hundley was unanimously appointed by the judges of the district court, according to a statement from the court’s office. Judge M. Hannah Lauck administered the oath of office for Hundley on Feb. 20 in Richmond, Virginia.
In a court filing announcing his appointment, Lauck wrote that Hundley has more than 35 years of experience as a litigator in Virginia and that he cofounded a law firm that works in both federal and state courts. Hundley also has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and was appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court to be a council member for the state bar association, according to the filing.
Hundley released a statement to media outlets after he was appointed as U.S. attorney, saying that “it was a great honor to be appointed by the Court as Interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia” and that he had “always held the Court and the United States Attorney’s Office in the highest regard.”
The announcement from Blanche last week wasn’t the first time the DOJ terminated a U.S. attorney following a court decision.
Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X in July 2025 that she fired Desiree Leigh Grace hours after she was appointed as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey. At the time, Bondi said that her department will “not tolerate rogue judges” while suggesting that Section II of the Constitution grants the president the power to hire and fire U.S. attorneys.
“Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, POTUS does. See Article II of our Constitution,” Blanche said in a post on X on Feb. 11. “You are fired, Donald Kinsella.”
The Epoch Times contacted Hundley, who has not publicly responded to Blanche’s announcement, for comment on Sunday.
