Zachary Cunha is out as Rhode Island’s U.S. attorney

Rhode Island’s top federal prosecutor is no longer on the job after being ousted by the Trump administration.

U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha announced his immediate departure Monday night. His office said Cunha had tendered a letter of resignation to President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Feb.7, indicating his intent to leave the office at the end of this week.

But the White House sent Cunha a termination notice late Monday, said office spokesperson Jim Martin. 

Darcie N. McElwee also left her post as Maine U.S. attorney Monday morning after being terminated by the Trump administration. The top federal prosecutor in Vermont departed on Inauguration Day while counterparts in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire stepped down on Jan. 17.

A copy of Cunha’s resignation letter was not immediately made available.

“Over the three years that I have had the high privilege to serve as U.S. Attorney, it has been my constant goal to make sure that the work of this district punched far above the weight that our compact geography and small staff might imply,” Cunha said in a statement. “By every measure, the men and women of this office have met that goal, again and again, across every category in which we prosecute and litigate on behalf of the people of the Ocean State.”

Cunha was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2021 to lead the office on the 17th floor of the skyscraper at One Financial Plaza in Providence. Rhode Island’s senators, Democrats Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both recommended that Biden select Cunha. 

“Mr. Cunha served Rhode Islanders honorably, and I am grateful for his principled dedication to the law,” Whitehouse said in a statement.

Under his tenure, Cunha’s office has pushed the city of Pawtucket to ensure Spanish-speaking voters have proper assistance during elections, sued CVS for allegedly contributing to the opioid crisis, and pushed the nation’s oldest community bank to address claims it discriminated against Black and Hispanic borrowers in Rhode Island.

His office also highlighted a consent decree reached with the state last December over claims that children with behavioral and mental health disabilities were being “warehoused” at Bradley Hospital in East Providence.

Cunha also served on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s advisory committee. 

“I am deeply grateful to Senators Reed and Whitehouse for recommending my nomination to the White House, and to President Biden for his trust and confidence in appointing me to serve this extraordinary district and its citizens as United States Attorney,” Cunha said. “I have worked hard every day to live up to the example of excellence set by my thirty-eight distinguished predecessors over the 235-year history of this Office, and it has been the honor of my career to do this job.”

This story was updated to include comment from U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.