Todd Gilbert, the former Virginia House speaker and Republican minority leader, has abruptly resigned as interim U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia.
Gilbert was sworn in on July 14. His resignation took effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday — just five weeks into the role.
Neither Gilbert nor the Justice Department has offered an official explanation.
The only public comment came in the form of a meme. Gilbert posted a still of Ron Burgundy from Anchorman, saying, “Boy, that escalated quickly.”
Gilbert’s departure is surprising given his bipartisan backing. His appointment had the support of both of Virginia’s Democratic U.S. senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.
In his absence, Robert N. Tracci — his first assistant and a finalist for the U.S. attorney position — has taken over as acting U.S. attorney.
Virginia Scope has the latest:
Gilbert resigned from the House of Delegates when he was sworn in as the United States attorney last month. The election to fill his seat is taking place on November 4.
He served the leader of the House Republican Caucus since 2020, which includes two years as Speaker of the House and was in the chamber for nearly 20 years in total.
“It’s kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Gilbert said during an interview with Virginia Scope in March, when discussing the possibility of leaving the house for the United States attorney position. “I think everybody in Richmond who knows me knows that I have the heart of a prosecutor.”
Tracci previously worked in the WDVA as a Special Assistant United States Attorney and was the Albermarle Commonwealth’s Attorney. In the early 2000s, he was the Chief Legislative Counsel for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and Deputy Assistant to the United States Attorney General in 2007 and 2008.
No word yet on whether Tracci will be tapped to serve in the role permanently.
