how many presidents have requested all previous attorney generals to resign

by Carley Oberbrunner 6 min read

How many US attorneys did Reagan replace?

Mar 23, 2007 · But historical data compiled by the Senate show the pattern going back to President Reagan. Reagan replaced 89 of the 93 U.S. attorneys in his first two years in office. President Clinton had 89 ...

How many Attorney Generals has President Trump had?

On March 10, 2017, Jeff Sessions, who was appointed United States Attorney General by President Donald Trump, requested the resignations of 46 United States Attorneys. Some resignations were declined by Sessions or Trump. Media outlets described Sessions' move as abrupt and unexpected but not unprecedented. It is typical that when a new president enters …

Who was the first president to demand the resignation of attorneys?

Dec 17, 2020 · Presidents Trump, Bush and Clinton all did so at the beginning of their time in office, and Eric Holder, President Obama’s attorney general in May of 2009, announced plans to dismiss a “batch ...

When do US attorneys have to resign?

Mar 10, 2017 · This isn't the first time a new president has dramatically fired federal prosecutors left over from a previous administration. President Bill Clinton fired all 93 U.S. attorneys on the same day in March 1993. Current U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was one of those fired by Clinton. He was serving as the U.S. Attorney in Alabama at the time.

Can the president fire the attorney general of the United States?

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.

How do you get rid of the Attorney General of the United States?

Technically, no sitting President has ever fired an Attorney General they nominated to office with Senate approval. But President Trump clearly has the power to remove Sessions, based on the Constitution and past legal decisions. And most importantly, he can ask for his resignation.Jul 26, 2017

How many attorney generals are there in the US?

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. 11 face a two term limit, otherwise unspecified.

Who is the assistant attorney general of the United States?

Lisa O. Monaco is the 39th Deputy Attorney General of the United States. As the Deputy Attorney General, she is the Department's second-ranking official and is responsible for the overall supervision of the Department.Apr 6, 2022

Who is the DOJ now?

Attorney General Merrick B. GarlandMeet the Attorney General Attorney General Merrick B. Garland was sworn in as the 86th Attorney General of the United States on March 11, 2021.

Who does the attorney general of New York report to?

The attorney general acts independently of the governor of New York. The department's regulations are compiled in title 13 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR).

Who is the highest law officer of a state?

Advocate General of the StateAdvocate General of the State is the highest law officer in the state. The Constitution of India (Article 165) has provided for the office of the Advocate General for the states. Also, he corresponds to the Attorney General of India.

How many attorney generals are there in Texas?

OfficeholdersNo.NameTerm of service47Dan Morales1991–199948John Cornyn1999–200249Greg Abbott2002–201550Ken Paxton2015–present46 more rows

Who was the first female Attorney General of the United States?

Janet RenoOfficial portrait, c. 1990s78th United States Attorney GeneralIn office March 12, 1993 – January 20, 2001PresidentBill Clinton16 more rows

Who was Assistant Attorney General under Obama?

Sally YatesSucceeded byDana Boente (acting)36th United States Deputy Attorney GeneralIn office January 10, 2015 – January 30, 2017PresidentBarack Obama Donald Trump25 more rows

Who was the US attorney general and supporter of the civil rights movement?

The Division was established on December 9, 1957, by order of Attorney General William P. Rogers, after the Civil Rights Act of 1957 created the office of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, who has since then headed the division.

Who is head of DOJ Criminal Division?

Kenneth PoliteThe Criminal Division is headed by an Assistant Attorney General, appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate. Kenneth Polite was appointed by President Joe Biden and sworn in as Assistant Attorney General on July 21, 2021.

Who was the acting attorney general of the Clinton administration?

That decision-making role fell previously to Stuart Gerson, who served as acting attorney general during the early months of the Clinton administration after his role as assistant attorney general for the civil division during President George H.W. Bush’s time in office.

Why did Biden call for Alberto Gonzales to resign?

In 2007, Biden publicly called for then-AG Alberto Gonzales to resign in part over the decision to fire eight U.S. attorneys amid allegations of Republican meddling in some of their investigations. Several GOP senators said they also had lost faith in Gonzales, and he eventually stepped down.

Why did Biden call for Gonzales to step down?

In his interview with Wallace, Biden defended his call for Gonzales to step down, arguing that the U.S. attorney firings were politically motivated. Biden added that he believed Gonzales had become a “creature of the president, not the attorney for the people as well as representing the president.”.

Does Biden want to run the Justice Department independently?

President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to restore integrity to the Justice Department and allow it to run independently, free of White House meddling. But if the experience of his predecessors is any guide, that lofty pledge is easier said than done – even if a president’s own son were not the subject of a federal investigation.

Did Barr have enough evidence to overturn the election?

The president denounced Barr’s statement that he hadn’t seen enough evidence of election fraud thus far to overturn the presidential outcome. Trump also expressed displeasure with Barr’s decision to keep the Hunter Biden investigation, which began in 2018, under wraps throughout the 2020 campaign. With nearly five decades ...

Will Biden fire his attorneys?

Several former Justice Department officials who spoke to RealClearPolitics said they fully expect Biden to fire some or all of the U.S . attorneys appointed by Trump , including the one investigating his son.

Who was the Attorney General of Alabama when Clinton fired him?

Current U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was one of those fired by Clinton. He was serving as the U.S. Attorney in Alabama at the time. But many new presidents choose to gradually phase out holdover prosecutors. Obama kept on Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. Attorney for Maryland appointed by President George W. Bush.

How many federal prosecutors were fired by Obama?

All US Attorneys Appointed by Obama Told to Resign. With no warning or fanfare, the Trump administration on Friday fired 46 federal prosecutors who had served in the Justice Department under President Barack Obama.

Who did Obama keep on?

Obama kept on Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. Attorney for Maryland appointed by President George W. Bush. And Trump had initially indicated that he would keep Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for Manhattan. According to media reports, Trump invited Bharara to a meeting at Trump Tower after the election. Bharara told reporters afterward ...

Who is the acting deputy attorney general of Virginia?

Bharara told reporters afterward that both Trump and Sessions had asked him to stay on the job. It remains to be seen how the firings will affect Dana Boente, the acting deputy attorney general and the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

When did the President fire the 93 federal prosecutors?

President Bill Clinton fired all 93 U.S. attorneys on the same day in March 1993. Current U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was one of those fired by Clinton. He was serving as the U.S. Attorney in Alabama at the time.

Who was the attorney general that subpoenaed Nixon's recordings?

Amid the Watergate investigation, Richard Nixon asked attorney general Elliot Richardson and his deputy, William Ruckelshaus, to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who months earlier had subpoenaed Nixon’s Oval Office recordings. Both lawyers opted to resign instead. In the wake of what was dubbed the Saturday Night Massacre, ...

Who was the president who fired George McClellan?

The President caught W’s eye during the walk-and-talk, and the son responded with an affirming wink. 6. Biggest Historical Impact. Abraham Lincoln fired General George McClellan, who wrote to his wife: “There never was a truer epithet applied to a certain individual than that of the ‘Gorilla.’.

Who replaced Douglas MacArthur?

Biggest Turnaround. On April 11, 1951, Harry S. Truman replaced popular general Douglas MacArthur with General Matthew Ridgway over what Truman called MacArthur’s “rank insubordination” during the Korean War. Enjoying a hero’s welcome back home, MacArthur was invited to speak to a joint session of Congress.

Who was the president who convinced his dad to let him do the dirty work?

Photo by Life Images Collection/Getty Images. 5. Breakthrough Performance. George W. Bush convinced his President-dad to let him do the dirty work when it was time to fire chief of staff John Sununu in 1991.

When did Reagan fire the Air Traffic Controllers?

In 1981 , Ronald Reagan fired 11,400 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization 48 hours after offering them an ultimatum: end their illegal strike or forfeit their jobs. The workers, seeking better pay and working conditions, were banned from federal employment.

Who was in charge of the Reagan assassination?

Instead, the public took it as a sign the administration was failing and desperate. Alexander Haig (CQ Roll Call Archive Photo) Ronald Reagan. Alexander Haig, Secretary of State. When Haig announced he was in charge following the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, a few feathers were ruffled.

Why did Bush lose the majority in Congress?

President Bush lost his majority in congress in 2006, largely due to the public’s opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A day after the election, Rumsfeld was out and former CIA director Robert Gates was in.

Who was the Secretary of State when Trump fired Comey?

Comey was in California, and learned of his dismissal from news reports. Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State. Trump responded “FAKE NEWS!” to reports in late 2017 that he was planning to fire his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

Who was the secretary of defense after the Black Hawk massacre?

Les Aspin , Secretary of Defense. After the massacre of the Black Hawk unit in Somalia, the former McNamara protege and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee twice offered Clinton his resignation. On the second occasion, Clinton accepted. Joycelyn Elders, Surgeon General.

Who was the first Hispanic cabinet member to resign?

Lauro Cavazos, Secretary of Education. The first Hispanic Cabinet member was told to resign after he surprised the White House with a new policy that would block federal aid to colleges that offered scholarships designed for minority students. Bill Clinton. William Sessions, FBI Director.

Who replaced William Sessions?

Bill Clinton. William Sessions, FBI Director. In President Bill Clinton ’ s first year in office, he fired the FBI director who had been criticized for his mismanagement of the agency and for spending taxpayer money for his own benefit. He replaced Sessions with Louis Freeh, whose appointment Clinton later regretted.

Who was the surgeon general who suggested condoms be distributed at public schools?

Joycelyn Elders , Surgeon General. Elders frequently ran afoul of the religious right, dismissing America’s “love affair with the fetus,” suggesting condoms be distributed at public schools and that comprehensive sex education should be taught. With Clinton besieged by critics in 1994, he parted ways with Elders.

Issues in Brief

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By tradition, all U.S. Attorneys are asked to resign at the start of a new administration. The new President may elect to keep or remove any U.S. Attorney. They are traditionally replaced collectively only at the start of a new White House administration. U.S. Attorneys hold a political office, in which the President nomi…
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Fallout

  • By April 2007, there was some speculation that the dismissal of the US attorneys might affect cases of public corruption and voter fraud. According to the National Law Journal, By mid-September 2007, nine senior staff of the Department of Justice associated with the controversy had resigned.The most prominent resignations include: 1. 1.1. Attorney General Alberto Gonzale…
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Replacement of The U.S. Attorneys

  • Initial planning
    On January 6, 2005, Colin Newman, an assistant in the White House counsels office, wrote to David Leitch stating, "Karl Rovestopped by to ask you (roughly quoting) 'how we planned to proceed regarding U.S. Attorneys, whether we were going to allow all to stay, request resignation…
  • Implementation: The U.S. Attorney Removal List
    In October 2006, George W. Bushtold Alberto Gonzales that he had received complaints that some of the U.S. Attorneys had not pursued certain voter-fraud investigations. The complaints came from Republican officials, who demanded fraud investigations into a number of Democratic cam…
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Reactions and Congressional Investigation

  • Initial reaction
    The initial reaction was from the senators of the affected states. In a letter to Gonzales on January 9, 2007, Senators Feinstein (D, California) and Leahy (D, Vermont; Chair of the Committee) of the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed concern that the confirmation proces…
  • Contempt of Congress charges
    On July 11, 2007, as Sara Taylor testified, George Manning, the attorney to former White House CounselHarriet Miers, announced that Miers intended to follow the request of the Bush Administration and not appear before the Committee the following day. Manning stated Miers "c…
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Aftermath

  • Subpoenas and lost emails
    White House spokesman Scott Stanzel stated that some of the emails that had involved official correspondence relating to the firing of attorneys may have been lost because they were conducted on Republican party accounts and not stored properly. "Some official e-mails have po…
  • Appointment of U.S. Attorneys and the 2005 Patriot Act reauthorization
    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. …
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See Also

References and External Links

  1. Resignation letters and emails, and other related documents hosted by WSJ
  2. Taylor, Marissa; Margaret Talev (2007-06-18). "A Q&A for the U.S. Attorneys saga". McClatchy Washington Bureau. McClatchy Newspapers. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
  3. The Washington Post in-depth coverage site on firings: "Special Reports: U.S. Attorney Firing…
  1. Resignation letters and emails, and other related documents hosted by WSJ
  2. Taylor, Marissa; Margaret Talev (2007-06-18). "A Q&A for the U.S. Attorneys saga". McClatchy Washington Bureau. McClatchy Newspapers. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
  3. The Washington Post in-depth coverage site on firings: "Special Reports: U.S. Attorney Firings Investigation". The Washington Post. 2007-03-05. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  4. Inside the U.S. Attorneys Emails: Major Players and Themes The Wall Street Journal(review of the most significant of the emails).