Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday announced the dismissal of a newly appointed U.S. attorney in Virginia, escalating uncertainty surrounding the leadership of one of the nation’s most prominent federal prosecutor’s offices.

The move came just hours after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia unanimously appointed James Hundley, a veteran attorney with more than 35 years of legal experience, to serve as U.S. attorney. The position had become vacant after the appointment of President Donald Trump’s previous selection was ruled unlawful.

Blanche criticized the court’s decision in a post on social media, asserting that the authority to select U.S. attorneys rests with the president.

“EDVA judges do not pick our U.S. Attorney. POTUS does,” Blanche wrote, announcing Hundley’s termination.

Hundley, a longtime litigator and former prosecutor, later founded his own criminal defense firm. He currently serves on the Virginia State Bar Council and has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, including in a case affirming the requirement that Miranda warnings be read to criminal suspects, according to his professional biography. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The federal court appointed Hundley after interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who had been selected by Trump, resigned last month.

The latest development adds to ongoing legal and administrative disputes over leadership of the Eastern District of Virginia, a key federal jurisdiction that handles national security, public corruption and complex criminal cases.