Attorney_General_of_the_United_States

United States Attorney General

United States Attorney General

Head of the US Department of Justice

The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.

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Under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution, the officeholder is nominated by the president of the United States, then appointed with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. The attorney general is supported by the Office of the Attorney General, which includes executive staff and several deputies.

Merrick Garland has been the United States attorney general since March 11, 2021.[3][4]

Name

The title, "attorney general" is an example of a noun (attorney) followed by a postpositive adjective (general).[5] "General" is a description of the type of attorney, not a title or rank in itself (as it would be in the military).[5] Even though the attorney general (and the similarly titled solicitor general) is occasionally referred to as "General" or "General [last name]" by senior government officials, this is considered incorrect in standard American English usage.[5][6] For the same reason, the correct American English plural form is "attorneys general" rather than "attorney generals".[6]

History

See also: United States Department of Justice § History
Seal of the Department of Justice

Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 which, among other things, established the Office of the Attorney General. The original duties of this officer were "to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the president of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments".[7] Some of these duties have since been transferred to the United States solicitor general and the White House counsel.

The Department of Justice was established in 1870 to support the attorneys general in the discharge of their responsibilities.

The secretary of state, the secretary of the treasury, the secretary of defense, and the attorney general are regarded as the four most important Cabinet officials in the United States because of the size and importance of their respective departments.[8]

Attorney General is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule,[2] thus earning a salary of US$221,400, as of January 2021.[9]

Presidential transition

It is the practice for the attorney general, along with the other Cabinet secretaries and high-level political appointees of the president, to tender a resignation with effect on the Inauguration Day (January 20) of a new president. The deputy attorney general is also expected to tender a resignation, but is commonly requested to stay on and act as the attorney general pending the confirmation by the Senate of the new attorney general.

For example, upon the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch left her position, so then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, who had also tendered her resignation, was asked to stay on to serve as the acting attorney general until the confirmation of the new attorney general Jeff Sessions, who had been nominated for the office in November 2016 by then-President-elect Donald Trump.[10][lower-alpha 1]

List of attorneys general

Flag of the United States attorney general

Parties

  Federalist (4)   Democratic-Republican (5)   Democratic (34)   Whig (4)   Republican (40)   Independent (1)

Status

  Denotes service as acting attorneys general before appointment or after resignation
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Line of succession

U.S.C. Title 28, §508 establishes the first two positions in the line of succession, while allowing the attorney general to designate other high-ranking officers of the Department of Justice as subsequent successors.[25] Furthermore, an Executive Order defines subsequent positions, the most recent from March 31, 2017, signed by President Donald Trump.[26] The current line of succession is:

  1. United States Deputy Attorney General
  2. United States Associate Attorney General
  3. Other officers potentially designated by the attorney general (in no particular order):
  4. United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
  5. United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina
  6. United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas

See also

Notes

  1. Unusually for a transitional acting appointment, Yates was dismissed and replaced with another Acting Attorney General before Sessions was confirmed because she refused to defend an executive order of the incoming administration.[11]
  2. Served as acting attorney general in his capacity as deputy attorney general, until his own appointment and confirmation as attorney general.
  3. On October 20, 1973, Solicitor General Robert Bork became acting attorney general following the "Saturday Night Massacre", in which U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus both resigned.
  4. Served as acting attorney general in his capacity as deputy attorney general, until the appointment of a new attorney general. Thornburgh later served as attorney general from 1988–1991.
  5. Served as acting attorney general in his capacity as Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Civil Division.[13] Gerson was fourth in the line of succession at the Justice Department, but other senior DOJ officials had already resigned.[14] Janet Reno, President Clinton's nominee for attorney general, was confirmed on March 12,[15] and he resigned the same day.[15]
  6. Served as acting attorney general in his capacity as deputy attorney general, until the appointment of a new attorney general. Holder later served as attorney general from 2009–2015.
  7. On August 27, 2007, President Bush named Solicitor General Paul Clement as the future acting attorney general, to take office upon the resignation of Alberto Gonzales, effective September 17, 2007.[16] On September 17, President Bush announced that Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Civil Division Peter Keisler would become acting attorney general, pending a permanent appointment of a presidential nominee.[17][18] According to administration officials, Clement became acting attorney general at 12:01 am September 17, 2007, and left office 24 hours later.[19] Keisler served as acting attorney general until the confirmation of Michael Mukasey on November 9, 2007.
  8. Served as acting attorney general in her capacity as deputy attorney general, until she was fired after saying the Department of Justice would not defend an executive order in court.[20]
  9. The legality of Matthew Whitaker's appointment as Acting Attorney General was called into question by several constitutional scholars. Among those included Neal Katyal and George T. Conway III, who asserted it is unconstitutional, because the Attorney General is a principal officer under the Appointments Clause, and thus requires senate consent, even in an acting capacity.[21] Maryland filed an injunction against Whitaker's appointment on this basis.[22] John E. Bies at Lawfare regarded it as an unresolved question.[23] The DOJ Office of Legal Counsel released a legal opinion, asserting that the appointment was legal and consistent with past precedent.[24]

References

  1. [1]
    "3 U.S. Code § 19 – Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act". Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  2. [2]
    5 U.S.C. § 5312.
  3. [3]
    Benner, Katie (March 10, 2021). "Merrick Garland Is Confirmed as Attorney General". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021.
  4. [4]
    Justice Department [@TheJusticeDept] (March 11, 2021). "Judge Merrick Garland takes his oath of office as the 86th Attorney General of the United States as he is sworn in by Assistant Attorney General for Administration Lee Lofthus. https://t.co/2nbizdpTFp" (Tweet). Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Twitter.
  5. [5]
    Herz, Michael (2002). "Washington, Patton, Schwarzkopf and ... Ashcroft?". Constitutional Commentary. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  6. [6]
    Garner, Bryan A. (May 2013). "LawProse Lesson #116: What's the plural form of attorney general? And what is the plural possessive?". Above the Law. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  7. [7]
    Judiciary Act of 1789, section 35.
  8. [8]
    Cabinets and Counselors: The President and the Executive Branch (1997). Congressional Quarterly. p. 87.
  9. [9]
    "Salary Table No. 2021-EX Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule (EX)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 23, 2021.
  10. [10]
    Gerstein, Josh (January 17, 2017). "Trump will allow U.S. attorneys to stay past Friday". POLITICO. Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  11. [11]
    Horwitz, Sari (January 30, 2017). "Who is Sally Yates? Meet the acting attorney general Trump fired for 'betraying' the Justice Department". Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  12. [12]
    Stern, Laurence; Johnson, Haynes (May 1, 1973). "3 Top Nixon Aides, Kleindienst Out; President Accepts Full Responsibility; Richardson Will Conduct New Probe". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  13. [13]
    Staff reporter (February 21, 1993). "Stuart Gerson's Parting Shot". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2008. As supporters of the Brady gun-control bill prepare to introduce it in Congress yet again this week, they find a welcome, if unlikely, ally in Stuart Gerson, the Acting Attorney General. Because President Clinton has had so many problems finding a new Attorney General, Mr. Gerson remains in office ...
  14. [14]
    Labaton, Stephen (January 25, 1993). "Notes on Justice; Who's in Charge? Bush Holdover Says He Is, but Two Clinton Men Differ". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
  15. [15]
    Ifill, Gwen (March 12, 1993). "Reno Confirmed in Top Justice Job". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2008. She will replace Acting Attorney General Stuart M. Gerson, a holdover appointee from the Bush Administration. Ms. Reno said he resigned today.
  16. [16]
    Meyers, Steven Lee (August 27, 2007). "Embattled Attorney General Resigns". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2007.
  17. [17]
    "President Bush Announces Judge Michael Mukasey as Nominee for Attorney General" Archived November 11, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, White House press release, September 17, 2007
  18. [18]
    "Bush Text on Attorney General Nomination". NewsOK.com. The Oklahoman. The Associated Press. September 17, 2007. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2007.
  19. [19]
    Eggen, Dan; Elizabeth Williamson (September 19, 2007). "Democrats May Tie Confirmation to Gonzales Papers". The Washington Post. pp. A10. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  20. [20]
    Perez, Evan; Diamond, Jeremy (January 30, 2017). "Trump fires acting AG after she declines to defend travel ban". CNN. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  21. [21]
    Katyal, Neal K. (November 8, 2018). "Opinion | Trump's Appointment of the Acting Attorney General Is Unconstitutional". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  22. [22]
    "Maryland Says Matthew Whitaker Appointment As Acting Attorney General Is Unlawful". NPR.org. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  23. [23]
    "Matthew Whitaker's Appointment as Acting Attorney General: Three Lingering Questions". Lawfare. November 8, 2018. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  24. [24]
    Jarrett, Laura. "DOJ says Whitaker's appointment as acting attorney general is constitutional". CNN. Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  25. [25]
    "U.S.C. Title 28 – JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE". www.gpo.gov. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  26. [26]
    "Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice". Federal Register. April 5, 2017. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
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