United States Attorney General

Executive Departments of the United States

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Department Secretaries Marco Rubio • Scott Bessent • Pete Hegseth • Pam Bondi • Doug Burgum • Brooke Rollins • Lori Chavez-DeRemer • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. • Scott Turner • Howard Lutnick • Sean Duffy • Chris Wright • Linda McMahon • Doug Collins • Markwayne Mullin

The United States attorney general is the head of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The position requires a presidential nomination and subsequent confirmation by the United States Senate.

The DOJ is a United States executive department formed in 1789 to assist the president and Cabinet in matters concerning the law and to prosecute U.S. Supreme Court cases for the federal government.[1] The department oversees the following agencies: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Prisons, and Interpol Washington.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Current attorney general
* 1.1 List of U.S. attorneys general
* 2 Confirmation process for attorneys general
* 2.1 Pam Bondi
* 2.2 Merrick Garland
* 3 See also
* 4 External links
* 5 Footnotes

## Current attorney general[edit]

The current attorney general is Pam Bondi. President Donald Trump (R) announced he would nominate Bondi to the office on November 21, 2024, and the Senate confirmed her on February 4, 2025.[3]

### List of U.S. attorneys general[edit]

Attorney General  | Years of service

|

Pam Bondi | 2025-present
Merrick Garland | 2021-2025
William Pelham Barr | 2019-2020
Jeff Sessions | 2017-2018
Loretta Lynch | 2015-2017
Eric Holder | 2009-2015
Michael B. Mukasey | 2007-2009
Alberto R. Gonzales | 2005-2007
John David Ashcroft | 2001-2005
Janet Reno | 1993-2001
William Pelham Barr | 1991-1993
Richard Lewis Thornburgh | 1988-1991
Edwin Meese, III | 1985-1988
William French Smith | 1981-1985
Benjamin Richard Civiletti | 1979-1981
Griffin Boyette Bell | 1977-1979
Edward Hirsch Levi | 1975-1977
William Bart Saxbe | 1974-1975
Elliot Lee Richardson | 1973
Richard Gordon Kleindienst | 1972-1973
John Newton Mitchell | 1969-1972
William Ramsey Clark | 1967-1969
Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach | 1965-1966
Robert Francis Kennedy | 1961-1964
William Pierce Rogers | 1957-1961
Herbert Brownell, Jr. | 1953-1957
James Patrick McGranery | 1952-1953
James Howard McGrath | 1949-1952
Thomas Campbell Clark | 1945-1949
Francis Beverly Biddle | 1941-1945
Robert Houghwout Jackson | 1940-1941
Frank Murphy | 1939-1940
Homer Stille Cummings | 1933-1939
William Dewitt Mitchell | 1929-1933
John Garibaldi Sargent | 1925-1929
Harlan Fiske Stone | 1924-1925
Harry Micajah Daugherty | 1921-1924
Alexander Mitchell Palmer | 1919-1921
Thomas Watt Gregory | 1914-1919
James Clark McReyonds | 1913-1914
George Woodward Wichersham | 1909-1913
Charles Joseph Bonaparte | 1906-1909
William Henry Moody | 1904-1906
Philander Chase Knox | 1901-1904
John William Griggs | 1898-1901
Joseph McKenna | 1897-1898
Judson Harmon | 1895-1897
Richard Olney | 1893-1895
William Henry Harrison Miller | 1889-1893
Augustus Hill Garland | 1885-1889
Benjamin Harris Brewster | 1881-1885
Isaac Wayne MacVeagh | 1881
Charles Devens | 1877-1881
Alphonso Taft | 1876-1877
Edwards Pierrepont | 1875-1876
George Henry Williams | 1871-1875
Amos Tappan Akerman | 1870-1871
Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar | 1869-1870
William Maxwell Evarts | 1868-1869
Henry Stanbery | 1866-1868
James Speed | 1864-1866
Edward Bates | 1861-1864
Edwin McMasters Stanton | 1860-1861
Jeremiah Sullivan Black | 1857-1860
Caleb Cushing | 1853-1857
John Jordan Crittenden | 1850-1853
Reverdy Johnson | 1849-1850
Isaac Toucey | 1848-1849
Nathan Clifford | 1846-1848
John Young Mason | 1845-1846
John Nelson | 1843-1845
Hugh Swinton Legare | 1841-1843
John Jordan Crittenden | 1841
Henry Dilworth Gilpin | 1840-1841
Felix Grundy | 1838-1839
Benjamin Franklin Butler | 1833-1838
Roger Brooke Taney | 1831-1833
John Macpherson Berrien | 1829-1831
William Wirt | 1817-1829
Richard Rush | 1814-1817
William Pinkney | 1811-1814
Caesar Augustus Rodney | 1807-1811
John Breckinridge | 1805-1806
Levi Lincoln | 1801-1805
Charles Lee | 1795-1801
William Bradford | 1794-1795
Edmund Jennings Randolph | 1789-1794

## Confirmation process for attorneys general[edit]

### Pam Bondi[edit]

See also: Confirmation process for Pam Bondi for U.S. attorney general

President-elect Donald Trump (R) announced former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) was his nominee for U.S. attorney general on November 21, 2024.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held confirmation hearings for Bondi on January 15 and 16, 2025.[4] The Senate voted 54-46 to confirm Bondi as attorney general on February 4, 2025.[3] All 53 Republicans and one Democrat, John Fetterman (D-Pa.), voted in favor of her confirmation. Forty-four Democrats and both Independents who caucus with Democrats voted against her confirmation. Click here to read more about the confirmation process.

Trump said of Bondi's nomination, "For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans - Not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!"[5]

Trump's first nominee for the position, former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R), was announced on November 13, 2024. Gaetz withdrew from consideration on November 21, 2024.[6][7] Click here to read more about Gaetz's nomination and withdrawal.

### Merrick Garland[edit]

See also: Confirmation process for Merrick Garland for U.S. attorney general

President Joe Biden (D) announced Merrick Garland was his nominee for U.S. attorney general on January 7, 2021.[8] This presidential appointment required Senate confirmation.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held Garland's confirmation hearing for February 22-23, 2021. The Senate confirmed him on March 10, 2021, by a vote of 70-30.

The Biden Transition said in a press release, "A consensus-building voice, Judge Garland has worked under Democratic and Republican administrations. He led investigations into some of the most high-profile cases and crises in modern history, including the 'Unabomber' Ted Kaczynski, and coordinated the government’s response to the Oklahoma City bombing. Judge Garland’s nomination underscores the [Biden's] commitment to restore integrity and the rule of law, boost morale of the dedicated career professionals at DOJ, and build a more equitable justice system that serves all Americans."[9]

## See also[edit]

* United States Department of Justice

## External links[edit]

* U.S. Department of Justice

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ U.S. Department of Justice, "Edmund Jennings Randolph," accessed August 22, 2013
2. ↑ Department of Justice, "Department of Justice Agencies," accessed August 22, 2013
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Newsweek, "Donald Trump Ally Pam Bondi Confirmed as US Attorney General," February 4, 2025
4. ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "The Nomination of the Honorable Pamela Jo Bondi to be Attorney General of the United States," January 15, 2025
5. ↑ Truth Social, "Trump on November 21, 2024," accessed November 22, 2024
6. ↑ Truth Social, "Trump on November 13, 2024," accessed November 13, 2024
7. ↑ X, "Matt Gaetz on November 21, 2024," accessed November 21, 2024
8. ↑ Biden-Harris Transition, "President-elect Biden Announces Key Nominations for the Department of Justice," January 7, 2021
9. ↑ 4President, "President-elect Joe Biden Announces Key Nominees for Department of Justice," January 7, 2021

v • e

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