Rhode Island’s two U.S. Senators blasted the appointment of Charles “Chas” Calenda as the interim U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island.
Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both Democrats, accused Calenda of being a Trump partisan.
“Despite good-faith efforts at a bipartisan nomination process with the Trump White House, the MAGA Department of Justice insisted on a MAGA stooge with neither the qualifications nor temperament for this position,” Whitehouse said in a statement.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Calenda interim U.S. Attorney on Dec. 23, the Boston Globe reported. Interim U.S. Attorneys are empowered to serve for 120 days.
Chief Federal Judge John J. McConnell Jr. plans to hold a swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, U.S. District Court Chief Deputy Clerk Frank Perry told Ocean State Media.
Calenda, 44, was elected to the West Greenwich Town Council in 2024. He ran for state attorney general in 2022 as a Republican, but lost to Peter Neronha.
The Senate Judiciary Committee seeks the approval of home-state senators on appointments for U.S. Attorney and federal judges in their state. Both Rhode Island Senators indicated they do not approve of Calenda’s appointment.
“Despite our good-faith conversations with the Administration, they chose a partisan interim appointment,” Reed said in a statement. “Rhode Islanders deserve a capable U.S. Attorney who can serve them long-term.”
The Justice Department under Trump has faced criticism for circumventing the Senate’s role in approving federal prosecutors by appointing lawyers to short-term roles, like Calenda’s appointment as “interim U.S. Attorney.”
The Justice Department has lost a string of court cases ruling that U.S. attorneys have not been appointed legally, including in New Jersey, Nevada, California and Virginia.
