The Trump administration fired the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York Wednesday just hours after a panel of federal judges selected him for the role, marking the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s battle with courts over control of federal prosecutor appointments.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that longtime lawyer Donald Kinsella had been removed shortly after judges in the district tapped him to replace President Donald Trump‘s preferred pick, John Sarcone III, whose interim term had expired.
Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does. See Article II of our Constitution. You are fired, Donald Kinsella. https://t.co/XUYRgaqG2T
— Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) February 12, 2026
“Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does,” Blanche wrote. “See Article II of our Constitution. You are fired, Donald Kinsella.”
Federal law allows district courts to appoint an acting U.S. attorney when an interim appointee’s 120-day term lapses and no Senate-confirmed nominee is in place. However, the Trump administration has vehemently argued that the president is allowed to appoint and fire whomever he pleases, arguing final hiring authority is vested in the executive branch.
Despite the administration’s position, judges in Albany invoked their authority after Sarcone was disqualified in January by a federal judge who ruled the administration improperly maneuvered to keep him in office beyond his statutory limit.
In a 24-page opinion written last week, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield wrote that when the executive branch “skirts restraints put in place by Congress and then uses that power to subject political adversaries to criminal investigations, it acts without lawful authority.”
Schofield also voided two subpoenas Sarcone issued to New York Attorney General Letitia James, a frequent political target of Trump who previously sought to sue his family business for hundreds of millions of dollars. The Justice Department is appealing that judge’s decision to void the subpoenas.
The Kinsella firing underscores a widening confrontation between the administration and the judiciary over who controls U.S. attorney posts. Courts in multiple districts have blocked or questioned Trump-backed prosecutors, including in New Jersey, where an appeals court upheld the disqualification of Alina Habba, another former personal attorney to Trump.
APPEALS COURT FINDS ALINA HABBA UNLAWFULLY SERVED AS TOP NEW JERSEY PROSECUTOR
The administration is contesting several of those decisions as it seeks to keep preferred candidates in place without Senate confirmation.
It will likely come down to the Supreme Court to decide whether the executive branch should have complete authority to name and appoint heads of U.S. attorney offices across the country, or whether congressional oversight must remain a factor.
