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FIRST ON FOX: High ranking DOJ official resigns post to run for attorney general in red state
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FIRST ON FOX: Aaron Reitz, a top official in President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, has resigned his post in the administration to run for attorney general of Texas, entering what he is calling a “fight for the soul of Texas.”
Reitz, a former Marine and chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, served in the Trump administration under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as the assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy.
Following speculation of a possible run for Texas attorney general, one of the most powerful positions in the state, Reitz resigned his position with the DOJ on Wednesday and officially launched his campaign the day after.
“If we lose Texas, we lose the Republic,” Reitz said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.
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Aaron Reitz, a top official in President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, has resigned his post in the administration to run for attorney general of Texas, entering what he is calling a “fight for the soul of Texas.”
“This is no time for half-measures or untested cowards,” he said, adding, “We are in a fight for the soul of Texas, our nation, and Western civilization itself.”
“As Attorney General, I’ll use every ounce of legal firepower to defend President Trump, crush the radical Left, advance the America and Texas First agenda, and look out for everyday Texans,” he said.
This comes as current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is running in hopes of replacing incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in one of the most hotly contested primary races of the year.
Reitz pledged to partner with the Trump administration to “clean up the border catastrophe with mass deportations and enhanced border security, take down the Soros-backed district attorneys, obliterate woke indoctrination, expose and root out election fraud, and defend our Constitutional rights without apology.”
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Texas state Capitol in Austin, Texas. (Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)
Reitz touted his conservative bona fides, saying, “I’ve spent my entire career in the trenches with the toughest conservatives in America.”
He is likely to garner endorsements from some of the country’s leading Republicans, with DOJ officials, including Bondi, giving him a string of fond farewells after he announced his departure.
In an X post Bondi said: “I’m proud to have worked with @aaron_reitz at @TheJusticeDept. Aaron played a central role in our work to Make America Safe Again — his next chapter will surely contribute to @POTUS’s mission, and I look forward to seeing what Aaron does next in his home state of Texas!”
FBI Director Kash Patel also chimed in, saying “Aaron is a personal friend, great American, and a relentless advocate for law and order. Thanks for serving our country, now it’s time to deliver on his next mission. Good luck.”
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Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Before serving in the Trump administration and on Cruz’s staff, Reitz previously held the position of Texas Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy under Paxton.
In December, Paxton spoke very highly of Reitz, saying, “he’s a proven and effective fighter for our Constitution and American Values” who was “our ‘offensive coordinator’ leading my very aggressive Texas-v-Biden docket.”
Paxton said that while working in his office Reitz “spearheaded some of our agency’s most consequential actions on border security, immigration, Big Tech, Covid, energy, the environment, and election integrity.”
Texas Republican state Senator Mayes Middleton, another pro-Trump conservative, is also running for attorney general.
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Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
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