The PresidentThe President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, an Attorney General of the United States. The Attorney General is the head of the Department of Justice.
U.S. attorneys must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, after which they serve four-year terms.
United States Attorneys are appointed by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, and serve at the direction of the Attorney General.
The U.S. Attorney General is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
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.
The president appoints U.S. attorneys, who mainly serve as administrators. Assistant U.S. attorneys handle the bulk of the trial work. The U.S. attorney general, who is the chief law enforcement officer in the United States and the head of the Department of Justice, has supervisory responsibility over U.S. attorneys.
Attorney General is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$221,400, as of January 2021.
The principal duties of the Attorney General are to: Represent the United States in legal matters. Supervise and direct the administration and operation of the offices, boards, divisions, and bureaus that comprise the Department.
The United States Attorney is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a term of four years.
The Attorney General of the United States – appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate – heads the DOJ with its more than 100,000 attorneys, special agents, and other staff. It represents the United States in federal criminal and civil litigation, and provides legal advice to the President and Cabinet.
Within the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI is responsible to the attorney general, and it reports its findings to U.S. Attorneys across the country. The FBI's intelligence activities are overseen by the Director of National Intelligence.
As part of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the FBI reports the results of its investigations to the attorney general of the United States and his assistants in Washington, D.C., and to the United States attorneys' offices in the country's federal judicial districts.
Unlike the Attorney General's nominee, however, individuals selected by the U.S. District Court serve until the Senate confirms a new appointee. If the Senate never confirms a new nominee, then the District Court's appointee will remain the U.S. Attorney for that district until a new presidential term begins.
As of September 8, 2022, President Biden had nominated 57 people to be U.S. attorneys, and 50 of the nominations were confirmed by the U.S. Senate, although 1 declined the nomination after confirmation. There are a total of 93 U.S. attorneys in the Department of Justice.
President Biden Announces Three New Nominees to Serve as U.S. Attorneys, One to Serve as U.S. Marshal. President Biden is announcing three new nominees to serve as U.S. Attorneys across the country, as well as one new nominee to serve as U.S. Marshal.
The United States Attorney is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a term of four years. In smaller offices, they may be responsible for all aspects of criminal prosecution.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland was sworn in as the 86 th 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. Under his leadership, the Department of Justice is dedicated to upholding the rule of law, keeping our country safe, and protecting the civil rights of all Americans.
Before becoming a federal judge, Attorney General Garland spent a substantial part of his professional life at the Department of Justice. He served in both career and non-career positions under five Attorneys General, including as Special Assistant to the Attorney General, Assistant United States Attorney, Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division, and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General. In those roles, his responsibilities spanned the work of the Department, including criminal, civil, and national security matters. They also included direct supervision of investigations and prosecutions of national importance , including the Oklahoma City bombing, Unabomber, and Montana Freemen cases.
Before becoming a federal judge, Attorney General Garland spent a substantial part of his professional life at the Department of Justice. He served in both career and non-career positions under five Attorneys General, including as Special Assistant to the Attorney General, Assistant United States Attorney, Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division, and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General. In those roles, his responsibilities spanned the work of the Department, including criminal, civil, and national security matters. They also included direct supervision of investigations and prosecutions of national importance , including the Oklahoma City bombing, Unabomber, and Montana Freemen cases.
He served as Chief Judge from February 12, 2013 until February 11, 2020 and remained on the bench until his confirmation as Attorney General. In addition to being a published author in the Harvard Law Review and Yale Law Journal, Attorney General Garland has taught as a professor at Harvard Law School, served as the president of the Board ...
He returned to the Department of Justice as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1989 to 1992. After briefly returning to Arnold & Porter in 1992, Attorney General Garland continued his career in public service as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division.