The robes have spoken—and they are done waiting.

A federal court in Virginia has formally declared the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia vacant, setting the stage for a rare court-appointed replacement and delivering a sharp rebuke to the Justice Department’s ongoing defense of embattled prosecutor Lindsey Halligan.

Chief U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck issued the order Tuesday, directing the court clerk to publish vacancy announcements soliciting interest from lawyers who want the job. The move comes just one week after the DOJ aggressively defended Halligan’s authority—again—in court.

Citing federal law, Lauck said Halligan’s interim appointment expired after 120 days, leaving the office officially leaderless. Under 28 U.S.C. § 546(d), when an interim U.S. attorney’s term lapses without Senate confirmation, the power to appoint shifts to the court.

That clock ran out.

Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Halligan on Sept. 22. By Tuesday, the statute’s deadline had passed—and the court made clear it would not allow the DOJ to stretch time any further.

The controversy surrounding Halligan has been simmering for months. Her appointment drew scrutiny because she was a newly minted prosecutor who previously served as a criminal defense attorney for President Donald Trump. That scrutiny boiled over when cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James were dismissed, with judges questioning whether Halligan was ever lawfully in the job.

Senior Judge Cameron McGowan Currie concluded last year that Bondi’s attempt to retroactively legitimize Halligan’s role amounted to unlawful “stacking successive 120-day appointments,” sidestepping the Senate’s constitutional role.

“The power to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney…lies with the district court,” Currie wrote, until a nominee is confirmed.

Instead of backing down, the DOJ appealed—and doubled down.

Two weeks ago, U.S. District Judge David J. Novak noticed Halligan continued signing court filings as “United States Attorney,” despite Currie’s ruling. Novak demanded an explanation. The DOJ responded with fire, accusing the court of launching an “inquisition” and committing a “gross abuse of power.”

Now Novak has answered back—with teeth.

In a blistering order issued Tuesday, Novak struck the words “United States Attorney” from all government filings in one pending case and barred Halligan from representing herself as U.S. attorney before his court after midnight on January 21, 2026.

“This charade of Ms. Halligan masquerading as the United States Attorney for this District…must come to an end,” Novak wrote, adding that DOJ employment is “no safe haven” from the court’s ethical rules.

Meanwhile, the district court has already begun advertising the vacancy in Virginia Lawyers Weekly, The Washington Post, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, and The Virginian-Pilot. Interested candidates have until February 10 to submit confidential applications.

The moment echoes a recent showdown in New Jersey involving Alina Habba, where a court-appointed replacement was swiftly fired by Bondi, only for Habba to be reinstalled through procedural maneuvering—an approach later ruled unlawful by multiple judges and upheld by the 3rd Circuit.

With Habba now gone and Halligan boxed in by court orders, the question hanging over Virginia is whether Bondi will try the same playbook again—or finally yield to the bench.

For now, the judges are reclaiming the wheel. The DOJ can protest. The ads are already running.