Trump's pick for top federal prosecutor in South Florida nears Senate confirmation
Miami-Dade County Judge Jason Reding Quiñones took a big step on Thursday toward being confirmed as the top federal prosecutor in South Florida, as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines in favor of President Donald Trump's pick for the region's high-profile law enforcement post.
The Republican-led committee vote 12-9 for Reding to head the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, making him the first nominee for such a position in Trump's second term to be sent to the full Senate for confirmation.
Reding, 44, who once worked as a federal prosecutor in the Miami office, could be confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate in a matter of weeks, depending on the latest political dispute between its Democratic and Republican members, according to University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias.
Tobias said standing potentially in his way is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, who on Tuesday said he intends to put a hold on all Justice Department political nominees until he receives more information from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi about Trump's plan to accept a $400 million jet as a gift from Qatar.
'Schumer has pledged to deny unanimous consent on all DOJ nominees over the Qatar jet gift until Bondi makes public her legal opinion about the gift,' said Tobias, an expert on presidential nominations.
As a result, Reding's confirmation could be delayed because he will need a cloture vote ending debate on his nomination as U.S. Attorney before the Senate votes on it, he said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune might set the matter for next week before the Memorial Day recess or in early June when the Senate returns, he said.
Trump nominated Reding in February as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, extending from Key West to Fort Pierce. The office, one of the busiest in the country, has about 250 prosecutors who focus on fraud, corruption, drug trafficking and violent crime — though Trump has made rooting out illegal immigration the No. 1 priority of his administration.
Reding graduated from Florida International University's law school in 2008, practiced corporate law for few years, did a stint as a JAG/military lawyer for the Air Force, and then joined the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., in 2018. Later that year, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami hired Reding as a prosecutor in the major crimes section, the starting place for most newly hired assistants. Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Reding as county judge in Miami-Dade, where he oversees domestic violence cases.
Reding is also a member of the conservative Federalist Society like many of Trump's appointments to U.S. Attorney posts and federal judge openings
Trump was effusive in his praise of Reding when he announced his nomination for the U.S. Attorney's position on the president's online media platform, Truth Social.
'It is my honor to nominate Judge Jason Reding Quiñones as the next United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida,' Trump posted in mid-February. 'As the next U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Judge Reding Quiñones will restore Law and Order, prosecute violent crimes and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Congratulations Jason!'
After his nomination, the Miami Herald reported that Reding changed his last name to include Quiñones before he applied to be a county judge in late 2023, possibly to curry favor with Miami-Dade County's predominant Hispanic voters.
According to several sources, Reding received poor evaluations as a prosecutor in the major crimes section of the U.S. Attorney's Office during his four-year stint. He was then transferred to the office's civil division.
Reding has not returned several email and voice-mail messages seeking comment on his performance in the office.
One of his supporters, attorney Jesus M. Suarez, who was a member of the Judicial Nominating Committee that recommended Reding as a county judge, criticized the Herald story in a post on X and praised his nomination by Trump for U.S. Attorney in South Florida.
'Judge Reding is an excellent choice by President Trump to enact much needed reforms at DOJ and throughout U.S. Attorneys' Offices [in] the nation,' Suarez posted.
If confirmed, Reding will replace Markenzy Lapointe, a Haitian-American immigrant who became the first Black lawyer to serve as U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida. Lapointe resigned on Jan. 17 resignation, days before the Trump administration began replacing top prosecutors in 94 federal district offices and firing dozens of assistant U.S. attorneys who had been involved in prosecuting Trump in connection with a special counsel's classified documents and Jan. 6 election interference cases.
Since starting his second term as president, Trump has orchestrated a Justice Department crackdown on prosecutors and other personnel associated with those now-dismissed criminal cases as well as on major Democratic-leaning law firms.
When Lapointe stepped down as U.S. Attorney, he was temporarily replaced by federal prosecutor Hayden O'Byrne.
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