how many presidents has made a acting attorney general temporary

by Ms. Lauryn Harris Jr. 3 min read

Is Matthew Whitaker the new acting Attorney General?

Nov 09, 2018 · The Constitution And Trump’s Temporary Attorney General President Trump's selection to serve as Acting Attorney General does not appear to be Constitutionally authorized to serve in that position.

Is the appointment of the Acting Attorney General unconstitutional?

Sep 17, 2007 · You have asked for our opinion whether the President has authority to name an Acting Attorney General under the Vacancies Reform Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 3345-3349d (2000 & Supp. IV 2004), even if an officer of the Department of Justice otherwise could act under 28 U.S.C. § 508 (2000). As we advised orally, we

How many vice presidents have served as Acting President?

The initial temporary appoint-ment of the Acting Attorney General was clearly authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 508 (1970), see note 42 infra; but his authority might be limited to thirty days by the Vacancy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 3348 (1970). A suit based on this thirty-day limitation has been filed against Acting Attorney General Bork.

What is an acting president?

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Who was the last acting attorney general?

Matthew WhitakerPreceded byJeff SessionsSucceeded byWilliam BarrChief of Staff to the United States Attorney GeneralIn office September 22, 2017 – November 7, 201820 more rows

Who appointed the acting attorney general?

Jeffrey A. RosenOfficial portrait, 2019Acting United States Attorney GeneralIn office December 24, 2020 – January 20, 2021PresidentDonald Trump27 more rows

Who is the new acting attorney general of the United States?

Merrick B. GarlandAttorney General Merrick B. Garland was sworn in as the 86th Attorney General of the United States on March 11, 2021. As the nation's chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Garland leads the Justice Department's 115,000 employees, who work across the United States and in more than 50 countries worldwide.Feb 3, 2022

Does each president appoint a new attorney general?

The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. ... 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.

Who was the attorney general under Trump?

Jeff SessionsOfficial portrait, 201784th United States Attorney GeneralIn office February 9, 2017 – November 7, 2018PresidentDonald Trump33 more rows

Can the president fire the attorney general?

The President of the United States has the authority to appoint U.S. Attorneys, with the consent of the United States Senate, and the President may remove U.S. Attorneys from office. In the event of a vacancy, the United States Attorney General is authorized to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney.

Is Jeffrey Clark still with the DOJ?

Clark resigned from the Justice Department on January 14, 2021. On January 25, 2021, the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General, Michael E.

How old is Lisa Monaco?

54 years (February 25, 1968)Lisa Monaco / Age

How many attorney generals are there in the United States?

Term Limits. Of the 50 Attorneys General, 25 do not have a formal provision specifying the number of terms allowed. Of the 44 elected attorneys general, all serve four-year terms with the exception of Vermont, who serves a two-year term.

Who was Attorney General before Barr?

William BarrPresidentGeorge H. W. BushPreceded byDonald B. AyerSucceeded byGeorge J. Terwilliger IIIUnited States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel30 more rows

How many Attorney General's are there in New York?

The Office of the Attorney General's thirteen Regional Offices help carry out the Attorney General's essential defensive, regulatory and affirmative justice functions in every part of New York State.

How many presidents turned to two?

Presidents Clinton and George H.W. Bush each turned to two. But President Trump had six in his second year (five, if you exclude Rod Rosenstein’s one-day of service (from government records) as acting attorney general before the White House picked Matthew Whitaker).

Who was the acting secretary of defense for more than a day?

AJosephOConnell. For four decades, until the start of 2019, there had been only one acting secretary of defense for more than a day—William Howard Taft IV at the start of President George H.W. Bush’s administration, who served while John Tower’s nomination was pending and continued briefly after the Senate voted it down.

Why did Esper leave the Senate?

Due to the intricacies of the 1998 Federal Vacancies Reform Act (Vacancies Act), as recently interpreted by the Supreme Court, Esper had to leave the acting position on July 15 when the Senate formally received his nomination.

How many secretaries does the DHS have?

DHS, which was established only in 2003, has three (two in this administration). President Trump has the highest number on this list—with seven acting secretaries, despite being only half-way done with his third year (Presidents Obama and Clinton come in with four each) and having a Senate controlled by his party.

How many observations does Robert Gates have?

Any service (whether confirmed or interim) across two administrations counts as two observations—so Robert Gates counts twice as secretary of defense. In addition, service in multiple capacities (recess, then confirmed, or acting, then confirmed) is treated separately.

Why are acting leaders unqualified?

One criticism of acting officials is that they are unqualified for their posts because they were not properly vetted by the Senate. Yet, acting officials often possess the stability, knowledge, and management necessary for their posts.

Is there a confirmed secretary of defense?

In these two primary national security departments, as of July 19, there is currently no confirmed secretary of defense, deputy secretary of defense, secretary of homeland security, deputy secretary of homeland security, and administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, among other important positions.

How many vice presidents have served as president?

To date, two vice presidents— George H. W. Bush (once) and Dick Cheney (twice)—have served as acting president. No one lower in the presidential line of succession has so acted.

What does it mean to be an acting president?

Person acting as U.S. president when officer holder is incapacitated. An acting president of the United States is an individual who legitimately exercises the powers and duties of the president of the United States even though that person does not hold the office in their own right. There is an established presidential line ...

How long did the executive branch have to be hampered?

On two occasions, in particular, the operations of the executive branch were hampered due to the fact that there was no constitutional basis for declaring that the president was unable to function: For 80 days in 1881, between the shooting of James Garfield in July and his death in September.

How old do you have to be to be a president?

At the time of taking office, one must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, at least thirty-five years old, and a resident of the United States for at least fourteen years.

What happens if the president dies?

If the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the vice president automatically becomes president. Likewise, were a president-elect to die during the transition period, or decline to serve, the vice president-elect would become president on Inauguration Day.

When was the Presidential Succession Act passed?

The current Presidential Succession Act was adopted in 1947 and last revised in 2006. The order of succession is as follows: the vice president, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the president pro tempore of the Senate, and then the eligible heads of the federal executive departments who form the president's Cabinet in the order ...

Which amendment provides for succession of presidents?

Proposed by the 89th Congress and subsequently ratified by the states in 1967, the Twenty-fifth Amendment also established formal procedures for addressing instances of presidential disability and succession. Its Section 3, which allows the president to voluntarily transfer his authority to the vice president, has been invoked on three occasions by two presidents. (Section 4, which addresses the case of an incapacitated president who is unable or unwilling to issue voluntary declaration, has not been activated since the amendment came into force .)

Who is Biden's nominee for Attorney General?

Biden’s nominee for the role is Alejandro Mayorkas, who was a deputy secretary of Homeland Security during the Obama administration. Monty Wilkinson, a career Justice Department lawyer and former Eric Holder deputy chief of staff, will be acting attorney general.

Who is the acting agriculture secretary?

Kevin Shea, the administrator of the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, will be the acting agriculture secretary. Biden’s pick for the role is Tom Vilsack, who served as agriculture secretary for the entirety of Obama’s time in the White House.

Who is the CEO of the Center for American Progress?

Biden’s pick for the role is Neera Tanden, the CEO and president of the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Regina LaBelle, who was the chief of staff in the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the Obama administration, will serve as its acting head. Kathleen McGettigan, the chief management officer at the Office ...

Who is the Commerce Secretary?

The President’s pick for commerce secretary is Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo. Phil Rosenfelt, the deputy general counsel for program service at the Department of Education, will be the department’s acting head. Biden has chosen Miguel Cardona, Connecticut’s commissioner of education, for the role.

Who is Biden's Labor Secretary?

Biden’s pick for Labor secretary is Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Dan Smith, a career foreign service officer who is the director of the Foreign Service Institute, will be the acting secretary of State. The President’s pick for the role is Antony Blinken, who was deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration.

Who is Biden's Justice Department?

Biden’s pick to lead the Justice Department is Merrick Garland, a federal judge on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit whom President Barack Obama nominated to the Supreme Court in 2016. Senate Republicans blocked Garland’s confirmation to the high court.

Who was the first woman to be appointed to the Cabinet?

Later Wednesday evening, the Senate voted to confirm Biden’s first Cabinet nominee. Avril Haines, who was a national security official in the Barack Obama administration, became the first woman to step into the role of director of national intelligence.

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Actings in Recent Administrations

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There is sadly no comprehensive and accurate public source of information on acting (or even confirmed) officials in recent administrations. Using a range of sources, I created a database of confirmed, recess, and acting cabinet secretaries from the start of President Reagan’s administration to the present (July 19, 2019)…
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The Desirability of Acting Leaders

  • Acting officials rarely garner adulation. As noted above, the Partnership for Public Service, a non-partisan entity devoted to effective governance, often compares them to “substitute teachers,” who lack the necessary authority in a classroom (or agency). In previous work, I joined this chorus of naysayers—arguing that acting officials (and vacancies more generally) had “significant cons…
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Potential Legislative Reforms

  • If we want the federal government to function (since confirmation delays do not appear to be going away anytime soon), acting officials are necessary to fill the gaps of Senate-confirmed leadership. Federal legislation addressing vacancies in Senate-confirmed agency positions dates back to 1792. The terms have shifted over the centuries, with the 1998 Vacancies Act establishi…
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