GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Both of Michigan’s U.S. attorneys have announced they will resign from their posts before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office on Monday.
Mark Totten, who serves as the U.S. attorney for the state’s Western District, and Dawn Ison, who serves the Eastern District, announced their plans to resign. Ison’s resignation will take effect Sunday. Totten will officially step down Monday.
It’s common for U.S. attorneys to leave their posts when there is a shift in power in the White House.
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Both Totten and Ison were nominated by President Joe Biden in November 2021. Ison was confirmed by the Senate one month later. Totten was confirmed in April 2022.
In a Tuesday statement, Totten said he was grateful for the opportunity to uphold justice for Michiganders.
“I’m incredibly proud of the work my team and I have done to protect the public, especially our more vulnerable citizens like children and seniors,” Totten stated. “I’m so grateful to have served alongside the amazing team in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan and the privilege I’ve been given to advance our mission.”
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Totten was born and raised in Kalamazoo and still lives there. He received his law degree and a doctorate in ethics from Yale University. In addition to working as a law professor at Michigan State University, he served part-time as a special assistant in the Western District of Michigan. He also served as a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals and served as chief legal counsel for the Governor’s Executive Office.
“It’s an extraordinary opportunity … on the one hand, it’s a heavy responsibility. It’s also very rewarding. Every single day I go to work with the mission of trying to protect the public and finding out how we do that quicker, better, stronger and I am so grateful for the trust put into me to serve in this role for a few years,” Totten said.
A 2022 file photo of Dawn Ison, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. (AP file)
Ison has spent more than two decades serving the Eastern District of Michigan. Ison was tabbed as an assistant U.S. attorney in 2002, prosecuting cases through the office’s Drug Task Force, Public Corruption and General Crimes units. She has also served as the district’s election office since 2014.
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In a statement, she thanked Biden for the opportunity to serve in the post and her talented coworkers.
“Capping my years-long public service to the Eastern District of Michigan as the United States Attorney will forever serve as the crowning point of my career,” Ison stated. “With the extraordinary talent at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, I am extremely proud of all that we have accomplished to reduce violent crime, empower communities through transparency and engagement, and protect the civil rights of all within our borders.
“It is my hope as I prepare to leave this office that this work — this partnership — will continue.”
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Ison graduated from Spelman College in 1986 and earned her law degree from Wayne State University in 1989. She worked as a criminal defense attorney for 12 years and as a prehearing attorney for the Michigan Court of Appeals before joining the Eastern District of Michigan.
Former U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge, who held the role from 2017 to 2022, will serve as acting U.S. attorney for the Western District following Totten’s departure. Julie A. Beck will do the job on an interim basis for the Eastern District.
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified who will serve as acting U.S. attorney in the Western District. Andrew Birge will file the role. We regret the error, which has been fixed.
