The No 3 official at the US justice department, Rachel Brand, is planning to resign, it was reported on Friday.
Brand, who has been in the job nine months as the department has endured a wave of attacks from Donald Trump and his supporters, is next in the chain of command behind Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump has reportedly considered firing both Mueller and Rosenstein at times.
The New York Times reported that Brand was leaving for a job as general counsel in the private sector.
Neither Brand nor a justice department spokesperson could be immediately reached for comment.
Rosenstein oversees Mueller’s investigation because the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recused himself from the matter last year.
Brand’s resignation is the latest sign of turmoil at US law enforcement agencies, which have come under sustained attack by Trump and his Republican allies in recent months.
News of her departure comes a week after Trump approved the release of a previously classified memo written by Republican lawmakers that portrayed the Russia investigation, initially handled by the FBI and now headed by Mueller, as a product of political bias against Trump at the justice department and FBI.
Trump also has criticized Sessions for recusing himself.
On 2 February, just hours before Trump approved the release of the Republican memo, Sessions offered praise for Rosenstein and Brand, saying they “represent the kind of quality and leadership that we want in the department”.
