South Florida US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones abruptly resigns

Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald on Nov 6, 2026

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MIAMI — Jason Reding Quiñones resigned Friday as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, ending a tenure marked by turmoil within the Miami-based federal prosecutor’s office and controversy over its involvement in an investigation targeting perceived enemies of President Donald Trump.

Reding Quiñones resigned abruptly, announcing his immediate departure without explaining why he was stepping down as head of one of the nation’s most prominent federal prosecutor’s offices.

“From serving our Nation in uniform to serving at the Department of Justice and on the bench, public service has been the honor of my lifetime,” he wrote. “But leading the U.S. Attorney’s Office in my home district has been especially meaningful.”

The resignation comes amid scrutiny of the office, where prosecutors have complained about staffing losses, declining morale and resources being diverted toward an investigation into allegations that former federal officials conspired to undermine Trump.

As previously reported by the Miami Herald, Reding Quiñones welcomed Joseph diGenova, a longtime Trump ally, to the Southern District of Florida to pursue an investigation targeting former CIA Director John Brennan, who served under President Barack Obama.

The investigation centers on allegations that Brennan and other former officials participated in a conspiracy against Trump, beginning with the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and extending to later cases involving the president, including the classified-documents prosecution.

Brennan has denied wrongdoing, and his attorneys have accused the Justice Department of pursuing a politically motivated investigation intended to punish him for his government service and public criticism of Trump.

Reding Quiñones publicly supported diGenova’s efforts to assemble a team of prosecutors. DiGenova took over after career prosecutor Maria Medetis Long was removed from the investigation, having concluded there was insufficient evidence to charge Brennan, according to the Herald.

The investigation operated partly from the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, where Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed the classified-documents case against Trump in 2024, presides. Brennan’s lawyers accused prosecutors of attempting to steer the case to her courtroom.

The controversy unfolded amid significant staffing losses at the Southern District of Florida, long known for major drug trafficking and financial fraud prosecutions.

The Herald reported that the office, which once employed as many as 240 full-time prosecutors, had lost roughly half that number through retirements, resignations and firings. Some departures preceded Trump’s return to office in January 2025, while others followed the dismissal of prosecutors who had worked on investigations involving him.

Prosecutors also complained about equipment and resources being transferred from Miami to Fort Pierce to support the Brennan investigation.

Jeffrey Sloman, a former U.S. attorney in Miami, warned in an earlier interview with the Miami Herald that the developments threatened the office’s reputation and its ability to recruit talented lawyers.

“Unless something changes quickly, it’s going to be hard to undo this damage,” Sloman said at the time.

The New York Times reported Oct. 9 that senior Justice Department officials had grown dissatisfied with Reding Quiñones’ management and questioned his ability to oversee the office’s operations.

According to the Times, officials working under Attorney General Todd Blanche believed Reding Quiñones was spending too much time in Washington rather than Miami. The newspaper reported that senior Justice Department official Aakash Singh removed him from the attorney general’s advisory committee to refocus his attention on South Florida.

The Times also reported that many career prosecutors were reluctant to participate in the Brennan investigation, prompting the recruitment of military lawyers and prosecutors from other offices.

Neither newspaper’s reporting establishes whether those controversies contributed to Friday’s resignation.

Reding Quiñones, an Army reservist who previously served as a federal prosecutor and judge, made no reference to the criticism in his announcement, instead thanking Trump and the office’s employees.

“I am grateful to President Trump for his trust and to the extraordinary men and women of the great Southern District of Florida for their dedication, friendship, and unwavering commitment to justice and the rule of law,” he wrote.

He said it had been “the privilege of a lifetime” to work alongside prosecutors and law enforcement officers, expressing pride in their accomplishments and gratitude for the opportunity to serve.

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