Maine’s U.S. attorney has been terminated by the Trump administration, her office announced Monday.
Darcie McElwee has served as Maine’s lead prosecutor in the U.S. District Court since 2021, when she was nominated by then-President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate. McElwee worked in Maine’s U.S. Attorney’s Office for nearly 20 years before taking it over.
Darcie McElwee. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine
She was notified of President Donald Trump’s decision Sunday night, according to a spokesperson. McElwee said Monday that the job “has been an extraordinary honor.”
“I am overwhelmed with appreciation and gratitude for the support, talents, integrity, and commitment to the rule of law of my current and former colleagues at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and at partner law enforcement agencies across Maine, many of whom I have worked with for more than two decades,” McElwee said in a written statement.
“Having the opportunity to pursue justice alongside dedicated professionals has been a truly humbling and rewarding experience,” she added. “I could not be more proud of the important work we did together for the people of Maine.”
While she was U.S. attorney, McElwee served on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s advisory committee. She was a liaison to the Bureau of Prisons for the committee and also served on various subcommittees for Terrorism & National Security, Native American Issues, Violent Crime and Civil Rights dealing with human trafficking.
Craig Wolff. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine
Craig Wolff, a career prosecutor who served as McElwee’s first assistant U.S. attorney, is taking over the top job on an acting basis under procedure established in federal law. Before coming to Maine, Wolff worked for the federal prosecutor’s office in Maryland.
The Trump administration will eventually nominate its own pick for the office, and that person will have to be confirmed by the Senate.
A Caribou native, McElwee previously worked as an adjunct professor of advanced trial advocacy at the University of Maine School of Law. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College in 1995 and her law degree from the UMaine law school in 1998.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican also hailing from Caribou, said in a statement Monday that McElwee “served her country well.”
“She has dedicated her career to keeping our state safe, advocating for victims of crime, and upholding the law,” Collins said.
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