Governor Kathy Hochul’s October 1 executive order removed Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten from the reopened 2024 Cornell University sexual assault investigation and appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor, citing lost confidence in his prior handling. Van Houten has remained in office, publicly supported the change, and continued performing other duties without any announced resignation, recall effort, or legislative action targeting his position. No county board or state mechanism has advanced to shorten his term, and official county records continue to list him as the sitting DA. With only seven weeks until the November 30 resolution date and no additional political or institutional pressure reported, traders assign a 74.5% probability that he will still hold the office on that date.