Dana Boente is best known for his brief stint as acting attorney general after President Donald Trump fired acting attorney general Sally Yates. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo Dana Boente, former acting attorney general, to leave Justice Dept.'s national security division

The acting head of the Justice Department's national security division, Dana Boente, plans to leave the agency once a permanent successor is confirmed, officials confirmed Friday.

Boente is best known for his brief stint at the helm of the Justice Department after President Donald Trump fired acting attorney general Sally Yates, an Obama holdover who refused to defend Trump's travel ban policy.


Boente is also expected to give up the post he has held since the Obama era as head of the U.S. attorney's Office in Alexandria, Va., which handles many high-profile national security, espionage and leak cases.

Boente, 63, has informed Justice Department leaders that he intends to leave the agency after a permanent head for the national security division is confirmed, two Justice officials said.

Last month, Trump nominated Boeing attorney John Demers to the assistant attorney general for national security post.

Demers, currently a vice president and assistant general counsel at the aviation giant, was a clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia and also served in several high-level Justice Department positions.

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Demers had a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month.

After Attorney General Jeff Sessions was installed atop the Justice Department, Boente served as his No. 2 before being replaced by eventual acting deputy attorney general Rod Rosentein.

Boente was then selected to oversee the department’s division handling the probe into alleged Russian election interference, overseeing efforts on cybersecurity and counterintelligence.

Boente’s federal government career began in 1984, where he served in the Justice Department’s tax division. He was appointed in 2015 by Obama to serve as as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Cristiano Lima contributed to this report.