Trump administration removes San Diego-area U.S. Atty. Tara McGrath

SAN DIEGO — U.S. Atty. Tara McGrath was removed from her role Wednesday evening, emailing the federal prosecutors in her office that she was “informed by the White House this afternoon that my tenure as U.S. Attorney has come to an end, effective today.”

First Assistant U.S. Atty. Andrew Haden, a longtime prosecutor in the office, will be acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California. Haden previously served about two months as acting U.S. attorney in 2023, bridging a short gap between Randy Grossman and McGrath.

“It has been an honor to serve as U.S. Attorney, working alongside an exceptional team in this office and forging strong partnerships with our law enforcement agencies and communities in pursuit of justice,” McGrath said in a statement. “As I step down from a decades-long career in public service, I remain inspired by dedicated public servants across this district and am proud of all we achieved together.”

A statement from her office said McGrath was informed of her termination “in a communication from the White House, at the direction of the President of the United States.” The statement added that the “White House also thanked Ms. McGrath for her service to the nation.”

McGrath was sworn in in October 2023 and served about 16 months as U.S. attorney after President Biden waited more than two years into his term to nominate her and the Senate delayed an additional six months confirming her.

The news of her removal Wednesday was somewhat surprising — not because it was unexpected, but rather because it followed a more traditional process than had been expected under the Trump administration.

It’s customary for a new presidential administration to remove U.S. attorneys appointed by the previous administration and for the office’s second in command to take over in an acting role, as occurred with McGrath and Haden. Then comes a long process for the new president to nominate their own U.S. attorney picks and get them through Senate confirmation.

Bloomberg Law reported in January that the new Trump administration planned to bypass first assistants in favor of prosecutors from the office who administration officials believed would support Trump’s law enforcement priorities. The outlet reported that the Trump administration was prioritizing “high-profile districts,” including those in New York, Washington, D.C., Miami, Texas and California.

That’s what happened in the District of Columbia, where interim U.S. Atty. Ed Martin was sworn in just minutes after Trump on Inauguration Day, and in the following days led the effort to dismiss the cases against defendants charged with storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

McGrath was expecting a similarly swift change given the nature of the Southern District of California as a border district and one of the busiest districts in the nation — so much so that she cleaned out most of her office on Inauguration Day in anticipation of the change.

But instead, she spent more than three weeks continuing to lead the office, even as the Trump administration began giving directions for federal prosecutors to begin focusing more on immigration and as the 300 or so employees in her office received the same “fork in the road” resignation letters as other federal employees from the Office of Personnel Management.

“I have cherished the years spent here — including both the most difficult challenges and greatest moments of my career,” McGrath wrote in the email she sent to her office Wednesday evening that was viewed by the Union-Tribune. “Yet none of what I have witnessed or worked on over the years rivals the past three weeks. I have never seen such dedication, resiliency, or perseverance as what I have observed from all of you. Your commitment to the work of this office, the people of this district, and to one another is extraordinary.”

McGrath told the Union-Tribune last April that she wasn’t focused on how long her term would last, despite knowing it would be short-lived if Trump returned to office. “I don’t think that this is my job,” she said at the time. “I’m a custodian of the United States attorney title.”

Asked after Trump’s election if she planned to step down early, she promised to stay in the position until she was told to leave. “The U.S. Attorney is proud to serve this district and will continue in the role as long as she is needed,” a spokesperson for her office said at the time.

In the statement announcing her departure, McGrath’s office touted more than $41 million it has obtained from settlements and recoveries in her tenure. It listed as some of her key accomplishments the extradition of GirlsDoPorn mastermind Michael Pratt; the $130-million forfeiture settlement with Wynn Las Vegas; the nation’s first-ever prosecution and conviction for smuggling greenhouse gases into the U.S.; and the lengthy sentences for half-brothers convicted of killing their sister and her family of four in Tijuana.

She ended her email to her office with what she said was the same message she shared on her first day as U.S. attorney: “Take care of each other; take care of yourselves; and never stop asking hard questions. Justice demands scrutiny and integrity; continue to hold yourself and others to that high standard.”

Haden, who has served as McGrath’s first assistant for the last several months, is a University City High School and Stanford University graduate who received his law degree from the University of San Diego. He served as an officer in the Navy for five years before joining the San Diego U.S. attorney’s office in 2010. In addition to serving as first assistant, the No. 2 role in the office, he has worked prosecuting general crimes and overseeing the units that prosecute major crimes, violent crimes and human trafficking. He led the illegal gun-dealing prosecution of former sheriff’s Capt. Marco Garmo and jeweler Leo Hamel.

Riggins writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.