Three DOJ Leaders Quit After Midterm Loss

Jason Reding Quiñones, the federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida, resigned from his post on Friday. His departure adds to a wave of exits from the U.S. Department of Justice following the Republican losses in the midterm elections. Two other senior officials also left their positions this week.

Official sources confirmed the resignation of Quiñones, who oversaw the office leading the investigation into the so-called "grand conspiracy" against President Donald Trump. People familiar with the matter said Washington officials grew frustrated with his management of that specific investigative team. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the same day that John Eisenberg, the department’s top national security official, had also resigned. Eisenberg had served as acting deputy attorney general for the National Security Division since June 2025. His portfolio included espionage, terrorism, export control violations, and cybercrime.

Harmeet Dhillon, the former deputy attorney general, announced her own resignation on Thursday. Dhillon had led a major reform of the Civil Rights Division. Although her departure became public immediately after the elections, she told Fox News Digital that she had decided to leave weeks earlier. The White House had asked her to stay until the vote concluded. She said she intended to return to the private sector and was not pushed out.

Quiñones was confirmed by the Senate last year to lead the Southern District of Florida. That office became the center of the department’s complex probe into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against the president. The investigation has shown signs of stalling in recent weeks due to staff changes and delays.

Investigators recently postponed grand jury testimonies from several witnesses, according to multiple sources familiar with the ongoing case. The uncertainty surrounding the probe coincided with the senior leadership shakeup.

In a social media post, Blanche thanked Quiñones for his leadership in fighting violent crime, drug trafficking, and sexual trafficking. He specifically noted the formal indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro. Quiñones’s office indicted Castro in May on charges related to the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes piloted by Miami-based exiles.

Quiñones stated that he is leaving with immense pride in the team’s achievements. He expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to serve the nation. He also thanked President Trump for his trust and praised the dedication of the staff in the Southern District of Florida.

The "grand conspiracy" investigation has faced repeated setbacks for more than a year. In April of last year, a senior national security prosecutor was replaced after raising doubts about the strength of the case against former CIA Director John Brennan. Joseph diGenova, a former federal prosecutor in D.C., took over the investigation shortly after but resigned from the department in September without filing criminal charges.

Under Eisenberg’s supervision, the National Security Division handled the case of former national security advisor John Bolton. Bolton pleaded guilty this year to charges of misappropriating classified information. He is currently awaiting sentencing. Blanche said in a statement that Eisenberg served with distinction while strengthening the nation’s ability to face foreign and internal threats.