G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced his resignation Tuesday to join a law firm in the private sector, marking the second US Attorney to resign prior to lame duck president Donald Trump’s exit from the White House, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

While it’s customary for US Attorneys to submit their resignations at a switch in administrations, having them exit their positions prior to the inauguration of the new President and the naming of a successor so that the prosecutors can ensure a smooth transition of cases.

Byung J. “BJay” Pak, the US Attorney for Northern Georgia, abruptly resigned Monday after a recording of a discussion between Trump and Georgia election officials was released.  On the recording, Trump calls Pak, a Trump appointee, a “never Trumper.”

The Eastern District of Virginia is a key office in the Justice Department regarding the fight on international terrorism.  The region is home to the CIA and the Pentagon, and many terrorism cases are tried in its courts.  In 2020, the office prosecuted accused Islamic state members Alexanda Amon Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, British nationals known as the “Beatles.”

Terwilliger was a long-time public servant in the office, having interned there as a college student.  He is the son of former deputy attorney general and one-time acting attorney general George Terwilliger, who replaced Bill Barr as AG in the GHW Bush administration.

Terwilliger also served as chief of staff to deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein when he drafted the memo that Trump referred to when he fired FBI director James Comey.