U.S. Department of Justice

Department of Justice

Secretary:| Pam Bondi
Year created:| 1789
Official website:| Justice.gov

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Mission
* 3 Leadership
* 4 Organization
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
* 7 Footnotes

Executive Departments of the United States

* * *

Executive Departments Department of State • Department of the Treasury • Department of Defense • Department of Justice • Department of the Interior • Department of Agriculture • Department of Commerce • Department of Labor • Department of Health and Human Services • Department of Housing and Urban Development • Department of Transportation • Department of Energy • Department of Education • Department of Veterans Affairs • Department of Homeland Security

* * *

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 Department of Justice (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 DOJ 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]

Pam Bondi is the U.S. attorney general. Click here to learn more about her confirmation process.

## History[edit]

The Office of the Attorney General was formed under the Judiciary Act of 1789, in order to advise the president on law and to prosecute cases in the Supreme Court.[3] Gradually the office began adding assistants and hiring private lawyers to handle an increasing number of federal cases until 1870, when Congress enacted An Act to Establish the Department of Justice. The department became official on July 1, 1870, and covered all criminal prosecutions and civil suits in which the United States had an interest, became the enforcer of all federal laws, and created the office of solicitor general. The foundation of the department is still based on that act, though it has grown into the largest law office and central enforcer of federal laws in the world.[3]

## Mission[edit]

The official department mission statement is as follows:

“  | The mission of the Department of Justice is to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights.[4] | ”

|
|

—Department of Justice[3]

## Leadership[edit]

Recent Attorneys General

Attorney General | Years in office | Nominated by | Confirmation vote
Janet Reno | 1993-2001 | Bill Clinton | 98-0
John Ashcroft | 2001-2005 | George W. Bush | 58-42
Alberto Gonzalez | 2005-2007 | George W. Bush | 60-36
Michael Mukasey | 2007-2009 | George W. Bush | 53-40
Eric Holder | 2009-2015 | Barack Obama | 75-21
Loretta Lynch | 2015-2017 | Barack Obama | 56-43
Jeff Sessions | 2017-2018 | Donald Trump | 52-47
William Barr | 2019-2020 | Donald Trump | 54-45
Merrick Garland | 2021-2025 | Joe Biden | 70-30
James McHenry (acting) | 2025-2025 | Donald Trump | N/A
Pam Bondi | 2025-present | Donald Trump | 54-46

Historical Attorneys General

Attorney General | Years in office | Nominated by | Confirmation vote
Edmund Randolph | 1789-1794 | George Washington | N/A
William Bradford | 1794-1795 | George Washington | N/A
Charles Lee | 1795-1801 | George Washington | N/A
Levi Lincoln | 1801-1805 | Thomas Jefferson | N/A
John Breckinridge | 1805-1807 | Thomas Jefferson | N/A
Caesar A. Rodney | 1807-1811 | Thomas Jefferson | N/A
William Pinkney | 1811-1814 | James Madison | N/A
Richard Rush | 1814-1817 | James Madison | 23-6
William Wirt | 1817-1829 | James Monroe | N/A
John M. Berrien | 1829-1831 | Andrew Jackson | N/A
Roger B. Taney | 1831-1834 | Andrew Jackson | N/A
Benjamin F. Butler | 1834-1838 | Andrew Jackson | N/A
Felix Grundy | 1838-1840 | Martin Van Buren |
Henry D. Gilpin | 1840-1841 | Martin Van Buren |
John J. Crittenden | 1841 | William Henry Harrison |
Hugh Swinton Legare | 1841-1843 | John Tyler |
John Nelson | 1843-1845 | John Tyler |
John Y. Mason | 1845-1846 | James K. Polk | N/A
Nathan Clifford | 1846-1848 | James K. Polk | N/A
Isaac Toucey | 1848-1859 | James K. Polk | N/A
Reverdy Johnson | 1849-1850 | Zachary Taylor | N/A
John J. Crittenden | 1850-1853 | Millard Fillmore |
Caleb Cushing | 1853-1857 | Franklin Pierce |
Jeremiah S. Black | 1857-1860 | James Buchanan |
Edwin M. Stanton | 1860-1861 | James Buchanan |
Edward Bates | 1861-1864 | Abraham Lincoln |
James Speed | 1864-1866 | Andrew Johnson |
Henry Stanbery | 1866-1868 | Andrew Johnson |
William M. Evarts | 1868-1869 | Andrew Johnson |
Ebenezer R. Hoar | 1869-1870 | Ulysses S. Grant | N/A
Amos T. Akerman | 1870-1871 | Ulysses S. Grant | N/A
George Henry Williams | 1871-1875 | Ulysses S. Grant | N/A
Edwards Pierrepont | 1875-1876 | Ulysses S. Grant | N/A
Alphonso Taft | 1876-1877 | Ulysses S. Grant | N/A
Charles Devens | 1877-1881 | Rutherford B. Hayes | N/A
Wayne MacVeagh | 1881 | James Garfield | N/A
Benjamin H. Brewster | 1881-1885 | Chester A. Arthur | N/A
Augustus H. Garland | 1885-1889 | Grover Cleveland | N/A
William H. H. Miller | 1889-1893 | Benjamin Harrison | N/A
Richard Olney | 1893-1895 | Grover Cleveland |
Judson Harmon | 1895-1897 | Grover Cleveland |
Joseph McKenna | 1897-1898 | William McKinley |
John W. Griggs | 1898-1901 | William McKinley |
Philander C. Knox | 1901-1904 | Theodore Roosevelt | N/A
William H. Moody | 1904-1906 | Theodore Roosevelt | N/A
Charles J. Bonaparte | 1906-1909 | Theodore Roosevelt | N/A
George W. Wickersham | 1909-1913 | William Howard Taft | N/A
James C. McReynolds | 1913-1914 | Woodrow Wilson | N/A
Thomas Watt Gregory | 1914-1919 | Woodrow Wilson | N/A
Alexander Mitchell Palmer | 1919-1921 | Woodrow Wilson |
Harry M. Daugherty | 1921-1924 | Warren G. Harding |
Harlan F. Stone | 1924-1925 | Calvin Coolidge |
John G. Sargent | 1925-1929 | Calvin Coolidge |
William D. Mitchell | 1929-1933 | Herbert Hoover |
Homer Stille Cummings | 1933-1939 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | N/A
Frank Murphy | 1939-1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 78-7
Robert H. Jackson | 1940-1941 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | N/A
Francis Biddle | 1941-1945 | Harry Truman | N/A
Tom C. Clark | 1945-1949 | Harry Truman |
J. Howard McGrath | 1949-1952 | Harry Truman |
James P. McGranery | 1952-1953 | Harry Truman |
Herbert Brownell, Jr. | 1953-1957 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
William P. Rogers | 1957-1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Robert F. Kennedy | 1961-1964 | John F. Kennedy |
Nicholas Katzenbach | 1965-1966 | Lyndon B. Johnson | N/A
Ramsey Clark | 1967-1969 | Lyndon B. Johnson | N/A
John N. Mitchell | 1969-1972 | Richard Nixon | N/A
Richard Kleindienst | 1972-1973 | Richard Nixon | 64-19
Elliot Richardson | 1973-1973 | Richard Nixon | 82-3
William B. Saxbe | 1974-1975 | Gerald Ford | 75-10
Edward H. Levi | 1975-1977 | Gerald Ford | N/A
Griffin Bell | 1977-1979 | Jimmy Carter | 75-21
Benjamin Civiletti | 1979-1981 | Jimmy Carter | 94-1
William French Smith | 1981-1985 | Ronald Reagan | 96-1
Edwin Meese | 1985-1988 | Ronald Reagan | 63-31
Richard L. Thornburgh | 1988-1991 | George H. W. Bush | 85-0
William P. Barr | 1991-1993 | George H. W. Bush | N/A

Note: Votes marked "N/A" represent voice votes or unrecorded votes. Missing votes will be filled as they are researched.

## Organization[edit]

Administrative State

* * *

Read more about the administrative state on Ballotpedia.

Click here to view the DOJ organization chart.

## See also[edit]

* Jeffrey Rosen

* Executive Branch portal
* U.S. Department of Defense
* U.S. Department of Homeland Security
* U.S. Department of State
* U.S. Department of Commerce
* U.S. Department of Labor
* U.S. Department of Energy
* U.S. Department of Agriculture

* U.S. Department of the Treasury
* U.S. Department of Education
* U.S. Department of Transportation
* U.S. Department of the Interior
* U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
* U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
* U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

|

## External links[edit]

* Official Department of Justice website
* Department of Justice on Facebook
* Department of Justice on Twitter
* Department of Justice Youtube channel

## 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 3.2 U.S. Department of Justice, "About DOJ," accessed February 26, 2024
4. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

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v • e

The Administrative State

Main|

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Terms|

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Bibliography|

* "Administrative Law - The 20th Century Bequeaths an 'Illegitimate Exotic' in Full and Terrifying Flower" by Stephen P. Dresch (2000)
* "Confronting the Administrative Threat" by Philip Hamburger and Tony Mills (2017)
* "Constitutionalism after the New Deal" by Cass R. Sunstein (1987)
* Federalist No. 23 by Alexander Hamilton (1787)
* "From Administrative State to Constitutional Government" by Joseph Postell (2012)
* "Interring the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule (2002)
* "Rulemaking as Legislating" by Kathryn Watts (2015)
* "The Checks & Balances of the Regulatory State" by Paul R. Verkuil (2016)
* "The Myth of the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Keith E. Whittington and Jason Iuliano (2017)
* "The Progressive Origins of the Administrative State: Wilson, Goodnow, and Landis" by Ronald J. Pestritto (2007)
* "The Rise and Rise of the Administrative State" by Gary Lawson (1994)
* "The Study of Administration" by Woodrow Wilson (1887)
* "The Threat to Liberty" by Steven F. Hayward (2017)
* "Why the Modern Administrative State Is Inconsistent with the Rule of Law" by Richard A. Epstein (2008)

Agencies|

Administrative Conference of the United States • United States Civil Service Commission • U.S. Government Accountability Office • U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs • U.S. Office of Management and Budget

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