Politics
U.S. Attorney for South Florida Jason Reding Quiñones Resigns After 15 Months, Second DOJ Exit Post-Midterms
Jason Reding Quiñones, the top federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida, resigned Friday, with Attorney General Todd Blanche praising his work on violent crime and the indictment of Raúl Castro. His departure follows the resignation of Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon a day earlier.
MIAMI â Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, has resigned from the Department of Justice, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Friday.
Quiñones, a U.S. Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, was sworn in on Aug. 13, 2025, by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi in Miami. His tenure leading one of the nation's busiest federal prosecutor's offices lasted roughly 15 months.
In a statement released Friday morning, Blanche credited Quiñones with aggressive enforcement across several fronts. "We are grateful for Jason's leadership in combating violent crime, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and transnational crime," Blanche wrote.
The attorney general also singled out Quiñones' role in the indictment of Raúl Castro over the 1996 fatal shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes at sea, a case that has long resonated in South Florida's Cuban American community.
Quiñones thanked President Donald Trump and his staff in announcing his departure. He becomes the second senior Justice Department official to step down following the midterm elections. On Thursday, Blanche announced the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who led the Civil Rights Division.
The Southern District of Florida encompasses Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and several other counties, handling high-profile cases involving international drug trafficking, immigration fraud, public corruption and national security. The office's leadership change comes at a sensitive moment for federal law enforcement in the region.
No successor was immediately named. The resignation takes effect as the Justice Department undergoes a broader post-election reshuffling of its senior ranks.