The United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Phil Sellinger, announced his resignation today, effective at 11:59 p.m., Jan. 8, 2025, as is customary ahead of a new presidential administration.

“Serving as the United States Attorney has been the honor of a lifetime,” Sellinger said in a statement.

“My sincere thanks to President Biden for appointing me the temporary steward of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  I leave knowing the storied traditions of this Office will continue through our dedicated career Assistant U.S. Attorneys and staff,” he added.

Sellinger created the first standalone Civil Rights Division at any U.S. Attorney’s Office, bringing civil and criminal AUSAs together to combat hate and protect civil rights, including the alarming rise in hate incidents against Jews in the state.

His office obtained the hate crime conviction of a man who committed a string of violent assaults—including carjackings—on visibly identifiable members of the Orthodox Jewish community around Lakewood, New Jersey.  He also obtained the conviction of a man who admitted to publishing a manifesto containing threats to attack a synagogue and Jewish people in New Jersey, which prompted widespread fear and panic.

Sellinger was also instrumental in the Agudath Israel lawsuit against Jackson Township, filing a lawsuit of their own, accusing the Township and Planning Board of violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA). That lawsuit was settled in June, 2022.

Upon United States Attorney Sellinger’s departure, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna will become Acting U.S. Attorney until President Trump nominates his own.