United States Attorney General

Head of the US Department of Justice

United States Attorney General

Seal of the Department of Justice

Flag of the United States attorney general

Incumbent
Merrick Garland

since March 11, 2021

Department of Justice
Style| Mr. Attorney General (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
Member of| Cabinet
National Security Council
Homeland Security Council
Reports to| President
Seat| Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building
Washington, D.C.
Appointer| President
with Senate advice and consent
Term length| No fixed term
Constituting instrument| 28 U.S.C. § 503
Formation| September 26, 1789
First holder| Edmund Randolph
Succession| Seventh[1]
Deputy| Deputy Attorney General
Salary| Executive Schedule, Level I[2]
Website| www.justice.gov/ag

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.

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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][a]

## List of attorneys general

[edit]

Flag of the United States attorney general

### Parties

[edit]

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

### Status

[edit]

Denotes service as acting attorneys general before appointment or after resignation

No.  | Portrait  | Name  | Prior experience  | State of residence  | Took office  | Left office  | President(s)

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 |  | Edmund Randolph | Lawyer,

7th Governor of Virginia

| Virginia | September 26, 1789  | January 26, 1794  |  | George Washington
2 |  | William Bradford | Lawyer, judge,

Attorney General of Pennsylvania

| Pennsylvania | January 27, 1794  | August 23, 1795
3 |  | Charles Lee | Lawyer,

Acting United States Secretary of State

| Virginia | December 10, 1795  | February 19, 1801
| John Adams
4 |  | Levi Lincoln Sr. | Lawyer,

Acting United States Secretary of State,

7th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 4th district

| Massachusetts | March 5, 1801 | March 2, 1805  |  | Thomas Jefferson
5 |  | John Breckinridge | Lawyer,

United States Senator from Kentucky,

Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives,

Attorney General of Kentucky

| Kentucky | August 7, 1805  | December 14, 1806
6 |  | Caesar Augustus Rodney | Lawyer,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Delaware's at-large district,

Member of Delaware General Assembly

| Delaware | January 20, 1807  | December 10, 1811
| James Madison
7 |  | William Pinkney | Lawyer,

United States Minister to the United Kingdom,

3rd Attorney General of Maryland,

Mayor of Annapolis,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd district

| Maryland | December 11, 1811  | February 9, 1814
8 |  | Richard Rush | Lawyer,

Attorney General of Pennsylvania

| Pennsylvania | February 10, 1814  | November 12, 1817
9 |  | William Wirt | Lawyer,

United States Attorney for the District of Virginia,

Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Richmond City

6th Clerk of the Virginia House of Delegates

| Virginia | November 13, 1817  | March 4, 1829  |  | James Monroe
| John Quincy Adams
10 |  | John Macpherson Berrien | Lawyer,

Judge of the Eastern judicial circuit of Georgia,

United States Senator from Georgia

| Georgia | March 9, 1829  | July 19, 1831  |  | Andrew Jackson
11 |  | Roger B. Taney | Lawyer,

Acting United States Secretary of War,

Attorney General of Maryland

| Maryland | July 20, 1831  | November 14, 1833
12 |  | Benjamin Franklin Butler | Lawyer,

Member of the New York State Assembly from Albany County,

District Attorney of Albany County

| New York | November 15, 1833  | July 4, 1838
| Martin Van Buren
13 |  | Felix Grundy | Lawyer,

United States Senator from Tennessee,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 3rd district and 5th district,

Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals

| Tennessee | July 5, 1838  | January 10, 1840
14 |  | Henry D. Gilpin | Lawyer,

Solicitor of the United States Treasury,

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

| Pennsylvania | January 11, 1840  | March 4, 1841
15  |  | John J. Crittenden
1st term | Lawyer,

22nd Secretary of State of Kentucky,

United States Senator from Kentucky

| Kentucky | March 5, 1841  | September 12, 1841  |  | William Henry Harrison
| John Tyler
16 |  | Hugh S. Legaré | Lawyer,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 1st district

Acting United States Minister to Belgium,

7th Attorney General of South Carolina

| South Carolina | September 13, 1841  | June 20, 1843
17  |  | John Nelson | Lawyer,

United States Chargé d'Affaires to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 4th district

| Maryland | July 1, 1843  | March 4, 1845
18 |  | John Y. Mason | Lawyer,

16th United States Secretary of the Navy

Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 2nd district

| Virginia | March 5, 1845  | October 16, 1846  |  | James K. Polk
19 |  | Nathan Clifford | Lawyer,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 1st district,

Attorney General of Maine,

Member of the Maine House of Representatives,

| Maine | October 17, 1846  | March 17, 1848
20 |  | Isaac Toucey | Lawyer,

33rd Governor of Connecticut,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's at-large district and 1st district

| Connecticut | June 21, 1848  | March 4, 1849
21  |  | Reverdy Johnson | Lawyer,

United States Senator from Maryland

| Maryland | March 8, 1849  | July 21, 1850  |  | Zachary Taylor
22  |  | John J. Crittenden
2nd term | Lawyer,

15th United States Attorney General (1841)

22nd Secretary of State of Kentucky,

United States Senator from Kentucky

| Kentucky | July 22, 1850  | March 4, 1853  |  | Millard Fillmore
23 |  | Caleb Cushing | Lawyer,

United States Minister to China,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 3rd district

| Massachusetts | March 7, 1853  | March 4, 1857  |  | Franklin Pierce
24 |  | Jeremiah S. Black | Lawyer,

Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court

| Pennsylvania | March 6, 1857  | December 16, 1860  |  | James Buchanan
25 |  | Edwin Stanton | Lawyer  | Pennsylvania | December 20, 1860  | March 4, 1861
26 |  | Edward Bates | Lawyer,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's at-large district,

Attorney General of Missouri

| Missouri | March 5, 1861  | November 24, 1864  |  | Abraham Lincoln
27 |  | James Speed | Lawyer,

Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives

| Kentucky | December 2, 1864  | July 22, 1866
| Andrew Johnson
28 |  | Henry Stanbery | Lawyer,

Attorney General of Ohio

| Ohio | July 23, 1866  | July 16, 1868
29 |  | William M. Evarts | Lawyer  | New York | July 17, 1868  | March 4, 1869
30 |  | Ebenezer R. Hoar | Lawyer, judge  | Massachusetts | March 5, 1869  | November 22, 1870  |  | Ulysses S. Grant
31 |  | Amos T. Akerman | Lawyer, teacher  | Georgia | November 23, 1870  | December 13, 1871
32 |  | George Henry Williams | United States Senator from Oregon

3rd Chief Justice of Oregon Supreme Court

| Oregon | December 14, 1871  | April 25, 1875
33 |  | Edwards Pierrepont | Attorney

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

| New York | April 26, 1875  | May 21, 1876
34 |  | Alphonso Taft | 31st United States Secretary of War | Ohio | May 22, 1876  | March 4, 1877
35 |  | Charles Devens | Judge of Massachusetts superior court  | Massachusetts | March 12, 1877  | March 4, 1881  |  | Rutherford B. Hayes
36 |  | Wayne MacVeagh | Lawyer,

United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire

| Pennsylvania | March 5, 1881  | December 15, 1881  |  | James A. Garfield
| Chester A. Arthur
37 |  | Benjamin H. Brewster | Attorney General of Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | December 16, 1881  | March 4, 1885
38 |  | Augustus Garland | Lawyer,

United States Senator from Arkansas,

11th Governor of Arkansas

| Arkansas | March 6, 1885  | March 4, 1889  |  | Grover Cleveland
39 |  | William H. H. Miller | Lawyer  | Indiana | March 7, 1889  | March 4, 1893  |  | Benjamin Harrison
40 |  | Richard Olney | Lawyer  | Massachusetts | March 6, 1893  | April 7, 1895  |  | Grover Cleveland
41 |  | Judson Harmon | Lawyer  | Ohio | April 8, 1895  | March 4, 1897
42 |  | Joseph McKenna | Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 3rd district

| California | March 5, 1897  | January 25, 1898  |  | William McKinley
43 |  | John W. Griggs | Lawyer,

28th Governor of New Jersey

| New Jersey | January 25, 1898  | March 29, 1901
44 |  | Philander C. Knox | Lawyer,

Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania (1876–1877),

President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association

| Pennsylvania | April 5, 1901  | June 30, 1904
| Theodore Roosevelt
45 |  | William Henry Moody | 35th United States Secretary of the Navy,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 6th district

| Massachusetts | July 1, 1904  | December 17, 1906
46 |  | Charles Bonaparte | Lawyer,

37th United States Secretary of the Navy

| Maryland | December 17, 1906  | March 4, 1909
47 |  | George W. Wickersham | Lawyer  | New York | March 4, 1909  | March 4, 1913  |  | William Howard Taft
48 |  | James C. McReynolds | Lawyer  | Tennessee | March 5, 1913  | August 29, 1914  |  | Woodrow Wilson
49 |  | Thomas Watt Gregory | Lawyer  | Texas | August 29, 1914  | March 4, 1919
50 |  | A. Mitchell Palmer | Attorney,

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 26th district

| Pennsylvania | March 5, 1919  | March 4, 1921
51 |  | Harry M. Daugherty | Lawyer

Member of the Ohio House of Representatives (1889−1893)

Republican Political Operative from Ohio

| Ohio | March 4, 1921  | April 6, 1924  |  | Warren G. Harding
| Calvin Coolidge
52 |  | Harlan F. Stone | Lawyer  | New York | April 7, 1924  | March 1, 1925
53 |  | John G. Sargent | Lawyer,

Attorney General of Vermont

| Vermont | March 7, 1925  | March 4, 1929
54 |  | William D. Mitchell | Attorney,

18th United States Solicitor General

| Minnesota | March 4, 1929  | March 4, 1933  |  | Herbert Hoover
55 |  | Homer Stille Cummings | Mayor of Stamford, Connecticut (1904–1906), State Attorney of Fairfield County (1914–1924),

Chair of the Democratic National Committee (1919–1920)

| Connecticut | March 4, 1933  | January 1, 1939  |  | Franklin D. Roosevelt
56 |  | Frank Murphy | Governor-General of the Philippines (1933–1935),

1st High Commissioner to the Philippines (1935–1936),

35th Governor of Michigan (1937–1939)

| Michigan | January 2, 1939  | January 18, 1940
57 |  | Robert H. Jackson | Lawyer,

United States Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division (1936–1937),

United States Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division (1937–1938),

24th United States Solicitor General (1938–1940)

| New York | January 18, 1940  | August 25, 1941
58 |  | Francis Biddle |  | Pennsylvania | August 26, 1941  | June 26, 1945
Lawyer,

Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Pennsylvania (1938–1939),

Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1939–1940),

25th United States Solicitor General (1940–1941)

|  | Harry S. Truman
59 |  | Tom C. Clark | Lawyer,

United States Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division (1943–1945)

| Texas | June 27, 1945  | July 26, 1949
60 |  | J. Howard McGrath | Lawyer,

60th Governor of Rhode Island (1941–1945),

27th United States Solicitor General (1945–1946),

Chair of the Democratic National Committee (1947–1949),

United States Senator from Rhode Island (1947–1949)

| Rhode Island | July 27, 1949  | April 3, 1952
61 |  | James P. McGranery | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 2nd district (1937–1943),

Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1946–1952)

| Pennsylvania | April 4, 1952  | January 20, 1953
62 |  | Herbert Brownell Jr. | Member of the New York State Assembly from the 10th district (1933–1937),

Chair of the Republican National Committee (1944–1946)

| New York | January 21, 1953  | October 23, 1957  |  | Dwight D. Eisenhower
63 |  | William P. Rogers | Attorney,

4th United States Deputy Attorney General (1953–1957)

| New York | October 23, 1957  | January 20, 1961
64 |  | Robert F. Kennedy | Lawyer  | Massachusetts | January 20, 1961  | September 3, 1964  |  | John F. Kennedy
| Lyndon B. Johnson
65 |  | Nicholas Katzenbach |  | Illinois | September 4, 1964[b] | January 28, 1965
Lawyer,

7th United States Deputy Attorney General (1962–1965)

| January 28, 1965  | November 28, 1966
66 |  | Ramsey Clark |  | Texas | November 28, 1966[b] | March 10, 1967
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division (1961–1965),

8th United States Deputy Attorney General (1965–1967)

| March 10, 1967  | January 20, 1969
67 |  | John N. Mitchell | Lawyer  | New York | January 20, 1969  | February 15, 1972  |  | Richard Nixon
68 |  | Richard Kleindienst | Lawyer,

10th United States Deputy Attorney General (1969–1972)

| Arizona | February 15, 1972  | April 30, 1973[12]
69 |  | Elliot Richardson | Lawyer,

37th Attorney General of Massachusetts (1967–1969),

25th United States Under Secretary of State (1969–1970),

9th United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (1970–1973),

11th United States Secretary of Defense (Jan–May 1973)

| Massachusetts | May 25, 1973[12] | October 20, 1973
– |  | Robert Bork[c]
Acting | 33rd Solicitor General of the United States (1973–1977)  | Pennsylvania | October 20, 1973  | January 4, 1974
70 |  | William B. Saxbe | U.S. Senator from Ohio  | Ohio | January 4, 1974  | February 2, 1975
Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives (1953–1955),

Ohio Attorney General (1957–1959; 1963–1969),

United States Senator from Ohio (1969–1974)

|  | Gerald Ford
71 |  | Edward H. Levi | 7th President of the University of Chicago | Illinois | February 2, 1975  | January 20, 1977
– |  | Dick Thornburgh[d]
Acting | United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania (1969–1975)

United States Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division (1975–1977)

| Pennsylvania | January 20, 1977  | January 26, 1977  |  | Jimmy Carter
72 |  | Griffin Bell | Lawyer,

Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1961–1976)

| Georgia | January 26, 1977  | August 16, 1979
73 |  | Benjamin Civiletti | Assistant United States Attorney

United States Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division (1977–1978)

17th United States Deputy Attorney General (1978–1979)

| Maryland | August 16, 1979  | January 19, 1981
74 |  | William French Smith | Lawyer  | California | January 23, 1981  | February 25, 1985  |  | Ronald Reagan
75 |  | Edwin Meese | Counselor to the President (1981–1985)  | California | February 25, 1985  | August 12, 1988
76 |  | Dick Thornburgh |

Acting United States Attorney General (1977)

Governor of Pennsylvania (1979–1987)

| Pennsylvania | August 12, 1988  | August 15, 1991
|  | George H. W. Bush
77 |  | William Barr
1st term | United States Deputy Attorney General (1990–1991)

United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (1989–1990)

| Virginia | August 16, 1991[b] | November 26, 1991
November 26, 1991  | January 20, 1993
– |  | Stuart M. Gerson[e]
Acting | United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division (1989–1993)  | Washington, D.C. | January 20, 1993  | March 12, 1993  |  | Bill Clinton
78 |  | Janet Reno | Attorney,

State Attorney for Miami-Dade County (1978–1993)

| Florida | March 12, 1993  | January 20, 2001
– |  | Eric Holder[f]
Acting | United States Deputy Attorney General (1997–2001)

United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (1993–1997)

Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (1988–1993)

| Washington, D.C. | January 20, 2001  | February 2, 2001  |  | George W. Bush
79 |  | John Ashcroft | 38th Attorney General of Missouri (1977–1983)

50th Governor of Missouri (1985–1993)

United States Senator from Missouri (1995–2001)

| Missouri | February 2, 2001  | February 3, 2005
80 |  | Alberto Gonzales | 100th Secretary of State of Texas (1998–1999)

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas (1999–2001) White House Counsel (2001–2005)

| Texas | February 3, 2005  | September 17, 2007
– |  | Paul Clement[g]
Acting | Lawyer,

United States Principal Deputy Solicitor General (2001–2004)

43rd United States Solicitor General (2004–2008)

| Washington, D.C.  | September 17, 2007  | September 18, 2007
– |  | Peter Keisler[g]
Acting | Acting United States Associate Attorney General (2002–2003)

United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division (2003–2007)

| Washington, D.C.  | September 18, 2007  | November 9, 2007
81 |  | Michael Mukasey | Attorney,

Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (2000–2006)

Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (2006)

| New York | November 9, 2007  | January 20, 2009
– |  | Mark Filip
Acting | Lawyer,

Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2004–2008)

33rd United States Deputy Attorney General (2008–2009)

| Illinois | January 20, 2009  | February 3, 2009  |  | Barack Obama
82 |  | Eric Holder | Acting United States Attorney General (2001)

United States Deputy Attorney General (1997–2001)

United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (1993–1997)

Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (1988–1993)

| Washington, D.C. | February 3, 2009  | April 27, 2015
83 |  | Loretta Lynch | United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (1999–2001, 2010–2015)

Member of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (2003–2005)

| New York | April 27, 2015  | January 20, 2017
– |  | Sally Yates[h]
Acting | Lawyer,

United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia (2010–2015)

36th United States Deputy Attorney General (2015–2017)

| Georgia | January 20, 2017  | January 30, 2017  |  | Donald Trump
– |  | Dana Boente
Acting | Attorney,

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (2013–2018)

| Virginia | January 30, 2017  | February 9, 2017
84 |  | Jeff Sessions | United States Senator from Alabama (1997–2017)

Attorney General of Alabama (1995–1997)

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama (1981–1993)

| Alabama | February 9, 2017  | November 7, 2018
– |  | Rod Rosenstein
Acting[i] | Attorney,

United States Attorney for the District of Maryland (2005-2017)

United States Deputy Attorney General (2017-2019)

| Maryland | November 7, 2018
– |  | Matthew Whitaker
Acting[j] | Lawyer,

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa (2004–2009)

Chief of Staff to the Attorney General (2017–2018)

| Iowa | November 7, 2018  | February 14, 2019
85 |  | William Barr
2nd term | 77th United States Attorney General (1991–1993)

United States Deputy Attorney General (1990–1991)

United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (1989–1990)

| Virginia | February 14, 2019  | December 23, 2020
– |  | Jeffrey A. Rosen
Acting | Lawyer

12th Deputy Secretary of Transportation (2017–2019)

38th Deputy Attorney General (2019–2020)

| Massachusetts | December 24, 2020  | January 20, 2021
– |  | John Demers
Acting[k] | Lawyer

Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division (2018–2021)

| Massachusetts | January 20, 2021  |  | Joe Biden
– |  | Monty Wilkinson
Acting | Lawyer  | Washington, D.C. | January 20, 2021  | March 11, 2021
86 |  | Merrick Garland | Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2013–2020)

Nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (2016)

Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1997–2021)

| Maryland | March 11, 2021  | Incumbent

## Line of succession

[edit]

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.[27] Furthermore, an Executive Order defines subsequent positions, the most recent from March 31, 2017, signed by President Donald Trump.[28] 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):
* Solicitor General of the United States
* Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division
* Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division
* Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division
* Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division
* Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division
* Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division
* Assistant Attorney General, Justice Management Division
* Assistant Attorney General, Tax Division
* Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs
* Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel
* Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy
* Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs
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

## Notable figures

[edit]

* First Italian American male: Charles Joseph Bonaparte in 1906[29]
* First Jewish American male: Edward H. Levi in 1975[30]
* First female: Janet Reno in 1993[31]
* First Hispanic American male: Alberto Gonzales in 2005[32]
* First African American male: Eric Holder in 2009[33]
* First African American female: Loretta Lynch in 2015[34]

## See also

[edit]

* Executive Order 13787 for "Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice"

## Notes

[edit]

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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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. ^ Following the resignation of Jeff Sessions as the United States Attorney General at the request of then-President Donald Trump, Rosenstein served as the acting United States Attorney General for a few hours on November 7, 2018 until then-President Donald Trump signed an executive order naming Matthew Whitaker as the acting United States Attorney General later that day.[21]
10. ^ 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.[22] Maryland filed an injunction against Whitaker's appointment on this basis.[23] John E. Bies at Lawfare regarded it as an unresolved question.[24] The DOJ Office of Legal Counsel released a legal opinion, asserting that the appointment was legal and consistent with past precedent.[25]
11. ^ Served as acting Attorney General in his capacity as Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ National Security Division for a few hours following the resignation of Jeffrey Rosen at noon on January 20, 2021. President Joe Biden signed an executive order naming Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Human Resources and Administration Monty Wilkinson as acting Attorney General later that day.[26]

## References

[edit]

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. ^ a b 5 U.S.C. § 5312.
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. ^ 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. ^ a b c Herz, Michael (2002). "Washington, Patton, Schwarzkopf and ... Ashcroft?". Constitutional Commentary. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
6. ^ a b 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. ^ Judiciary Act of 1789, section 35.
8. ^ Cabinets and Counselors: The President and the Executive Branch (1997). Congressional Quarterly. p. 87.
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## External links

[edit]

* Official website

U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)

Preceded by

Lloyd Austin

as Secretary of Defense |  Order of precedence of the United States
as Attorney General | Succeeded by

Deb Haaland

as Secretary of the Interior
U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded by

Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin

|  7th in line  | Succeeded by

Secretary of the Interior
Deb Haaland

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