Two weeks after abruptly resigning as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, Todd Gilbert has found a new job.
Gilbert was hired this week as the senior assistant commonwealth鈥檚 attorney for Page County, not far from his home in the Shenandoah Valley, according to an announcement Wednesday from the office.
鈥淚 am delighted to have the opportunity to do meaningful prosecution work in a county that I love and care deeply about,鈥 Gilbert said in a news release from Commonwealth鈥檚 Attorney Armanda Clymer.
Clymer said Gilbert will start work immediately.
Gilbert
On Aug. 20, less than two months after he was appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi as the top federal prosecutor for Western Virginia, Gilbert stepped down. The former speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates had been nominated by President Donald Trump and was awaiting Senate confirmation.
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Gilbert did not publicly state a reason for his sudden departure.
A person with knowledge of what happened told The 麻花视频 in August that Gilbert鈥檚 decision to resign was the result of a falling out with officials in the Trump administration over a personnel issue.
Shortly after he was sworn in on July 14, Gilbert decided to keep his predecessor鈥檚 first assistant U.S. attorney, who serves as the second-in-command of the 麻花视频-based office.
Zachary Lee had the same position under former U.S. Attorney Chris Kavanaugh, who was nominated in 2021 by then-President Joe Biden.
Concerned about what they believed to be Lee鈥檚 connections to the former Democratic administration, Trump officials pushed Gilbert to replace him with someone more in step with their agenda, according to the source, who asked not to be identified.
Gilbert resisted, leading the Department of Justice to appoint Robert Tracci 鈥 a former Virginia assistant attorney general who had earlier been a contender for Gilbert鈥檚 job 鈥 as the new first assistant U.S. attorney in early August.
Lingering hard feelings between Gilbert and officials in Washington, D.C., led to his forced resignation, the source said.
Tracci then became acting U.S. attorney by default under a federal law that elevates the second-in-command position when there鈥檚 a vacancy at the top. Tracci was one of two candidates 鈥 the other being Gilbert 鈥 who was recommended by Virginia鈥檚 two senators for consideration by Trump.
Earlier efforts to reach Gilbert, Lee and Tracci were unsuccessful. The U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office and the Department of Justice declined to comment.
In her news release, Clymer said she was grateful to have an attorney of Gilbert鈥檚 caliber and experience, which includes working as a state prosecutor in Lynchburg and the Shenandoah Valley.
鈥淭odd is obviously no stranger to the people of Page County and will start to make a positive impact right away,鈥 she said.
Gilbert represented the county during his tenure in the House of Delegates, which included serving as speaker and Republican majority and minority leader. He had planned to run for re-election this year but resigned his legislative seat shortly before he was sworn in as the interim U.S. attorney.
On Wednesday, the White House officially withdrew Gilbert鈥檚 name from consideration by the Senate, a process that had begun in July with his nomination by Trump.
