United States: three senior Justice Department officials resign after the midterms

Three senior U.S. Justice Department officials have resigned in two days, after President Donald Trump's Republican Party suffered a heavy defeat in the Tuesday, November 3, 2026 midterm elections that gave Democrats control of Congress, CNN and CBS News report. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced each departure on social media, without giving reasons in most cases.

Harmeet Dhillon, who led the Civil Rights Division, was first, on Thursday, November 5. She is the first major administration figure to leave since the vote. Blanche praised her for defending "the civil liberties of every American." Dhillon told Fox News she had been planning to leave for weeks and was not asked to resign. Her tenure saw a large share of the division's staff depart and an overhaul of its priorities.

Miami's top prosecutor and the national security chief

On Friday, November 6, Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida in Miami, also resigned. His office led the so-called "grand conspiracy" investigation into Trump's adversaries, which has produced no indictments, and secured the indictment of former Cuban president Raúl Castro. CNN reports he left under pressure from department leadership. He said he was leaving "with immense pride."

The same day, John Eisenberg, head of the National Security Division, which handles terrorism, espionage and leak cases, also resigned, according to Fox News. Blanche credited him with strengthening the country's ability to address threats "both foreign and domestic." More departures are expected, with the administration still having two years left in its term.