Eric Holder | |
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Official portrait, 2009 | |
82nd United States Attorney General | |
In office February 3, 2009 – April 27, 2015 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Sally Yates | |
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Succeeded by | Dana Boente (acting) |
36th United States Deputy Attorney General | |
In office January 10, 2015 – January 30, 2017 | |
President | Barack Obama Donald Trump |
Attorney General | Years of service |
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Merrick Garland | 2021-Present |
Charles Lee | 1795-1801 |
William Bradford | 1794-1795 |
Edmund Jennings Randolph | 1789-1794 |
On November 8, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated her to succeed Eric Holder as Attorney General. On February 26, 2015, the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate recommended her confirmation by a 12–8 vote, with all Democrats of the committee and three Republicans in favor. On April 23, 2015, Lynch was confirmed by the Senate by a 56–43 vote, making her the second African American, the second woman and the first African-American woman to be confirmed for the position. She was sworn in as Attorney General on April 27, 2015. Her tenure ended on January 20, 2017, when Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States.
On November 8, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Lynch for the position of U.S. Attorney General, to succeed Eric Holder, who had previously announced his resignation, pending confirmation of his replacement. She was confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 26, 2015, and approved by the Senate in a 56-43 vote on April 23, thereby becoming the first African-American woman; the second African-American after Holder; and the second woman, after Janet Reno; to hold this office.
In October 2016, Lynch removed the Brooklyn FBI agents and federal prosecutors from the death of Eric Garner case, replacing them with agents from outside New York. The local FBI agents and federal prosecutors had determined that charges should not be brought in the case, prompting strong disagreement from attorneys in the Washington, D.C. office of the Department's Civil Rights Division. Lynch's intervention has been called "highly unusual".
Following the July 2014 death of Eric Garner, an unarmed man who died after being held in a department-prohibited chokehold by a New York City police officer, Lynch agreed to meet with Garner's family to discuss possible federal prosecution of the officer believed to be responsible for Garner's death.
Several Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including chairman Chuck Grassley, opposed Lynch's confirmation, saying it was important to find out more about Lynch's role in settling a $1.9 billion money-laundering deal with HSBC when she served as United States Attorney in New York. Rand Paul, though not on the committee, opposed her nomination for her support of civil forfeiture. On April 23, 2015, cloture was invoked on her nomination by a vote of 66 to 34. Her appointment was confirmed the same day by a 56 to 43 vote. Her nomination process was one of the longest in the history of the United States, taking 166 days after she was first nominated for the post. She was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on April 27, 2015.
For example, upon the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch left her position, so then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, who had also tendered her resignation, was asked to stay on to serve as the acting attorney general until the confirmation of the new attorney general Jeff Sessions, who had been nominated for the office in November 2016 by then- President-elect Donald Trump.
The original duties of this officer were "to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the president of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments". Some of these duties have since been transferred to the United States solicitor general and the White House counsel .
Attorney General is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$ 221,400, as of January 2021.
The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United Stateson all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.
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.
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.
The Department of Justice was established in 1870 to support the attorneys general in the discharge of their responsibilities.