Three senior Justice Department officials resign in the days after the US midterms
Two top US Justice Department officials resigned on Friday 6 November 2026 — John Eisenberg, head of the National Security Division, and Jason Reding Quiñones, the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida who oversaw the 'grand conspiracy' probe into past investigations of President Trump — following the resignation on Thursday of Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil Rights Division. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the Friday departures. Reuters reports it is not clear why Eisenberg or Quiñones resigned; the resignations follow the midterm elections, in which Republicans lost control of Congress.
Checking in progress
This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
- Collecting reportsDone
- Grouping the versionsDone
- 3Checking claims3 of 4 claims checked
- 4Human gateStill to come
3 of 4 claims checked so far · step 3 of 4: Checking claims
Key points
- Friday: John Eisenberg (National Security Division head) and Jason Reding Quiñones (US attorney, Southern District of Florida) resigned; Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the departures.
- Thursday: Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon resigned — three senior officials in two days, after Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterms.
- Quiñones's office ran the 'grand conspiracy' probe into past investigations of Trump; Reuters says it has produced no charges so far.
- The reasons are not established: CNN reports pressure on Quiñones from unnamed sources; Reuters says the reasons are not clear.
What happened
The departures leave the Justice Department without leaders for two of its signature initiatives, Reuters notes — relitigating past investigations of the president, and its campaigns in higher education, which Dhillon's Civil Rights Division had driven. Eisenberg's National Security Division had been involved in the department's most controversial actions, including a raid on a Washington Post reporter's home in a leak investigation and the redactions in the release of the Epstein files.
The resignations land as Democrats, newly in control of Congress, plan a raft of investigations into the administration. Senior officials leaving after a sharp midterm setback is not unusual, Reuters notes — but the concentration at the top of the Justice Department in 48 hours is what makes this a story.
Claim by claim
Why this label: Reuters' report (read in full) and USA Today's account agree on both Friday resignations and on Attorney General Blanche as the announcer of Eisenberg's departure; Bloomberg Law reports Blanche announced both exits.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The Dhillon resignation and its Thursday timing agree between Reuters and the AP report carried by US outlets.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Reuters' account of the probe's scope and its no-charges-so-far state, read in full. The 'grand conspiracy' investigation is a programme of allegations against past investigators; no finding against any of its targets is stated or implied here.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (1 more)
Why this label: Not yet verified: CNN's account rests on sources familiar with the matter, and Reuters states plainly that the reasons are not clear. The pressure account is carried as reporting, not as the established reason.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That Eisenberg and Quiñones resigned on Friday and Dhillon on Thursday, and that Attorney General Blanche announced the Friday departures — Reuters, USA Today, AP and Bloomberg Law in agreement.
What we don't know yet
- Why each official resigned — no official reason has been given; accounts based on unnamed sources are carried as not yet verified.
- Who will succeed them, and whether the 'grand conspiracy' investigation continues under new leadership.
- Any statement from the three officials beyond Quiñones's own resignation post — none was in the reporting read.
Why it matters
The Justice Department is losing, in two days, the heads of its national-security and civil-rights divisions and the prosecutor running its most politically charged investigation. Who replaces them — and whether the 'grand conspiracy' probe survives its second leadership loss in two months — will shape the department for the rest of the administration.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state — checking continues, and claims are labelled as reporting develops. Basis: Reuters read in full; USA Today, AP and Bloomberg Law in agreement.