Maine’s top federal prosecutor fired by Trump administration
By Billy Kobin, Bangor Daily News Staff
Maine will have a new top federal prosecutor under President Donald Trump, after U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee said Monday, Feb. 17 the Republican president’s administration has fired her.
Former President Joe Biden nominated McElwee, a Caribou native who previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney and prosecutor in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, to the top role in 2021. It is typical for U.S. attorneys to step aside or be removed after a presidential transition. Numerous top prosecutors in various states announced their resignations in recent weeks.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Wolff, who served as McElwee’s No. 2, is now the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Maine, the office said in a Feb. 17 news release.
McElwee said in a statement she was notified in an email from Department of Justice leadership Sunday evening, Feb. 16 that Trump was terminating her. As for next career steps, McElwee said she could not yet share her plans.
“Having the opportunity to pursue justice alongside dedicated professionals has been a truly humbling and rewarding experience. I could not be more proud of the important work we did together for the people of Maine,” she said.
The position often receives less attention than Cabinet or judicial appointments but carries plenty of influence in Maine, with McElwee facing issues ranging from the opioid epidemic to illegal, Chinese-linked marijuana growing operations over the years.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was expecting communication from the Trump administration by the end of December on a process they wanted to follow on the U.S. attorney nomination, her office previously said. Tradition holds that Collins would have a chance to weigh in on the U.S. attorney choice as the sole Republican senator in New England.
Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Collins, who voted to convict Trump on an impeachment charge in 2021, has been contacted by the Trump administration about the U.S. attorney position.
Numerous Republicans have been floated as potential candidates to replace McElwee. One of them, Alex Willette, a former state lawmaker and Maine National Guard judge advocate who served in Trump’s first administration as deputy White House political affairs director, said Monday he had no updates to share.