Judges Appoint Acting US Attorney; Trump Fires Him Hours Later

Federal judges in Albany, New York, appointed Donald Kinsella as acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York on February 12, 2026, only for the Trump administration to dismiss him hours later, highlighting an intensifying dispute over authority to fill key prosecutorial roles.

The Northern District court invoked a federal statute allowing judges to appoint an acting U.S. attorney when no Senate-confirmed nominee serves in the position. Kinsella, a 79-year-old attorney with over 50 years of experience in criminal and civil litigation, had previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Albany office from 1989 to 2002, including as chief of the criminal division. The judges selected him to replace John Sarcone III, whose 120-day interim appointment had expired months earlier. Sarcone, a Trump administration loyalist with no prior prosecutorial background, had been installed in March 2025 by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

A federal judge's ruling in January 2026 complicated Sarcone's tenure. U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield determined that the Justice Department had unlawfully extended Sarcone's role by designating him as first assistant U.S. attorney and...