Connecticut's U.S. attorney Deirdre M. Daly announced that she will continue serving until October, despite saying she would step down from her position last week.
Daly announced she would serve in her current position following Attorney General Jeff Sessions seeking the resignation of 46 other state prosecutors across the country on Friday.
However, on Monday, Daly said she would complete her twenty years of service to the Department of Justice in October.
"I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of the residents of Connecticut in my remaining time, and I will focuse on an orderly transition as I complete what has been a rewarding tenure at the Office."
Daly was appointed to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut in May 2014, and was the first woman to be appointed, and later confirmed to run the office in Connecticut history.
Her tenure was focused on cracking down on the illegal drug trade, and corruption. It was during her time as U.S. attorney that the government prevailed in convicting former Connecticut governor John Rowland on corruption charges, sending him to federal prison for a second time.
In a statement, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, himself a former US Attorney from 1977 to 1981, said he was “saddened and surprised” to hear of Daly’s ouster.
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Many of the federal prosecutors who were nominated by former President Barack Obama have already left their positions, but the nearly four dozen who stayed on in the first weeks of the Trump administration have been asked to leave "in order to ensure a uniform transition," Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said.
It is customary for the country's 93 U.S. attorneys to leave their positions once a new president is in office, but the departures are not automatic.
One high ranking GOP source told NBC Connecticut the options for Connecticut are wide-ranging for Daly’s replacement.
If the administration were to consider political insiders, former State Representative, and recent candidate for Congress John Shaban’s name has been mentioned, same with GOP Delegate Sue Hatfield.
Further, Justin Clark, a well-connected GOP insider who ran Tom Foley’s campaign for governor in 2014 could be an influential force for Trump and Sessions.
Clark is a recent resident of West Hartford and a veteran of Republican state politics. He was tapped to help with the presidential transition, served as Trump’s Deputy National Political Director during the campaign, and now serves as the Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs.
With an asset like Clark, the Trump administration would not have to look far for names that could help move along law enforcement and other policy goals within the office of the U.S. attorney.
