The dismissal of the U.S. Attorney in the Fresno area before a full-time nominee was appointed was unusual, a man who previously held the job tells GV Wire.

The Trump administration dismissed Michele Beckwith on Tuesday as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, replacing her with Kim Sanchez, who will also serve in an acting capacity.

“It’s very unusual. It is out of the norm,” McGregor Scott said.

Traditionally, the first assistant is named acting U.S. attorney, until a candidate is nominated and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. An acting attorney appointed by the administration can serve up to 120 days. After that, the chief judge for the district — Troy Nunley — would make the pick. That pick would serve until a successor is confirmed.

Scott served as the top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of California for two stints — from 2003 to 2009 under former President George W. Bush, and 2017 to 2021 during President Donald Trump’s first term. He is now in private practice at King & Spalding in Sacramento.

Beckwith, formerly the first assistant in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento, became acting U.S. attorney after Phillip Talbert left in January — a normal occurrence during a change of presidential administration. Scott said that in such circumstances the acting attorney usually returns to their previous position.

“I’m not surprised at all they appointed Kim Sanchez to be the acting U.S. attorney. I think that’s a normal thing,” Scott said. “What’s not normal or typical is literally the firing or the termination of the federal employment of the acting U.S. attorney. I do not know why that happened and I’m not going to speculate.”

He was surprised the move from Beckwith to Sanchez did not happen sooner.

“The Eastern District sometimes can be an afterthought because we’re not San Francisco, we’re not Los Angeles, and we’re at the border in San Diego. So Sacramento sometimes is not given the attention that it’s due by the people in Washington, D.C. of both parties. But I think it was sort of a backburner issue and they felt like they had to move on the others more quickly,” Scott said.

Praise for Sanchez

Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp and Scott praised Sanchez becoming the acting U.S. attorney.

“Kim Sanchez is probably the hardest-working prosecutor that we have in Fresno County,” Smittcamp said. “She is experienced. She is fair. She is nonpolitical. She is hard-charging. And she is really all about justice and public safety for the people.”

Scott hired Sanchez as a federal prosecutor in 2005.

“When I came back as Trump U.S. attorney, I promoted her to a management position. I think she’s eminently qualified. I think this is an excellent selection by the administration. And she will do a very fine job as the acting U.S. attorney,” Scott said.

Smittcamp Says No Way

Smittcamp said she is “absolutely not” interested in serving as U.S. attorney.

“Because I am a county prosecutor. That is my job. That is my chosen profession. That is my calling in life. And I will retire from this job and never do another one as long as I live,”Smittcamp said. “I don’t have any political aspirations to run for any (other) office or switch over to the federal system.”

Moving to federal law is “a whole different world,” Smittcamp said.

Smittcamp said she plans to run for re-election in 2028. A recent appellate court decision upheld a state law that pushed next election date to 2028, granting Smittcamp a one-time-only six-year term. She was last elected in 2022.

“I’m gearing up, ready to go,” Smittcamp said.

Smittcamp called the change in state law “irresponsible” and “flawed.” She questioned the county’s legal approach to challenging the law, defending Measure A — passed by voters in 2024 to keep the 2026 election date — rather than attacking the constitutionality of a six-year term.

McGregor answered “resoundingly no” when asked if he’s interested in again leading the U.S Attorney’s office.

Both Smittcamp and Scott said they’ve heard of people expressing interest in the position, but didn’t reveal their names.

Tradition of Leaving With Administration Change

Scott followed the tradition of stepping down as U.S. Attorney with a change in administrations. He left his first term on Jan. 4, 2009, weeks before Barack Obama took the oath of office. He waited until Feb. 28, 2021 to leave the second time.

“Then January 6th happened. So I stuck around a little bit longer,” Scott said. “(The attorney) gets out of the way so that the new administration can put their own people in.”

Scott’s replacement, Phillip Talbert, left office Jan. 7 of this year.