President Donald Trump nominated senior White House aide Lindsey Halligan as the top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia after its U.S. attorney was pushed out on Friday.

In a Truth Social post announcing her nomination, Trump lauded Halligan as a "tough, smart, and loyal attorney" who has been in his legal orbit for years. 

"[Halligan] is extremely intelligent, fearless and, working with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, has the strength and determination to be absolutely OUTSTANDING in this new and very important role," Trump wrote. 

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Halligan was one of Trump’s attorneys after the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago for the retention of classified documents. She’s more recently been enlisted in a White House effort to remove what the administration contends is "anti-American ideology" from Smithsonian museums.

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The nomination would place Halligan in charge of an office in tumult over political pressure by administration officials to criminally charge New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime foe of Trump, in a mortgage fraud investigation.

Erik Siebert, who had been the office's top prosecutor, resigned Friday amid a push by Trump administration officials to bring charges in the investigation, which stems from allegations of paperwork discrepancies on James' Brooklyn townhouse and a Virginia home.

James' lawyers have vigorously denied any allegations and characterized the investigation as an act of political revenge.

While Siebert said in an email to colleagues Friday evening that he had submitted his resignation, Trump said in a social media post: "He didn't quit, I fired him!"

Trump noted he was backed by the state's two Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, adding: "Next time let him go in as a Democrat, not a Republican."

It took a decade, but the Indiana Fever finally celebrated a WNBA playoff series victory. The injury-depleted team upset the Atlanta Dream in the first round, winning Game 3 on Thursday in dramatic fashion.

After avoiding elimination by winning Game 2, Indiana's fourth-quarter heroics resulted in a stunning 87-85 upset. Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen took notice of the Fever's remarkable playoff run and offered his praise.

"Shoutout to the Fever and Coach White for getting it done last night and moving on. Obviously, they've dealt with some adversity, with some injuries, and it's the next person up for them. So it's been fun and [I] wish them all the best of luck in the next round for sure," Steichen said during his media availability on Friday.

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"I thought it was awesome to find a way to win there, it shows just the grittiness, the toughness, the resilience that they're playing with right now. You can see they're all playing together. So, it's exciting for them, it's exciting for the city." 

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Fever star Sophie Cunningham reacted to Steichen's comments. "wait this is so cool! love you are reppin’ the Fever Girlies coach," she wrote on X. 

Meanwhile, Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell praised her head coach Stephanie White after Indiana advanced to the semifinals. 

"I’ve had so many coaches in eight years, I’ve been on the worst record teams in the Indiana Fever (history), so I know where my career started at," Mitchell said after the sixth-seeded Fever rallied in the final minute to beat the third-seeded Dream 87-85 in a decisive Game 3. "I know what I’ve had to go through to kind of be in this position, and I’ve never had a coach that poured into me respectfully, like Steph has. I’ve never felt that as a pro."

The Dream finished the regular season with 30 wins, the most in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta entered the playoffs as one of the favorites to make it to the WNBA Finals.

Despite being short-handed throughout much of the year due to injuries, the Fever won the WNBA Commissioner's Cup and finished with 24 wins.

Five players who started the 2025 season on the Fever's roster were lost to season-ending injuries. To make matters worse, those setbacks occurred within a two-month window.

In early September, Caitlin Clark announced she had been ruled out for the rest of the season. Clark has been sidelined since July 15, when she suffered a groin injury in a game against the Connecticut Sun.

"I spent hours in the gym every day with the singular goal of getting back out there, disappointed isn't a big enough word to describe how I am feeling," the point guard wrote on X on Sept. 4.

Fellow Fever guards Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald each went down with their own significant injuries during a matchup with the Phoenix Mercury last month. Colson suffered a torn ACL, while McDonald was diagnosed with a broken foot.

Cunningham suffered a season-ending MCL injury on Aug. 27. 

The Fever will meet the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals. Game 1 tips off on Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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