United States Attorney General
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United States Attorney General | |
---|---|
![]() Seal of the Department of Justice | |
![]() Flag of the Attorney General | |
United States Department of Justice | |
Style | Mr. Attorney General |
Member of | Cabinet |
Reports to | President of the United States |
Seat | Department of Justice Headquarters, Washington, D.C. |
Appointer | The President with Senate advice and consent |
Term length | No Fixed Term |
Constituting instrument | 28 U.S.C. § 503 Judiciary Act of 1789 |
Formation | September 26, 1789 |
First holder | Edmund Randolph |
Succession | Seventh[1] |
Deputy | Deputy Attorney General |
Salary | Executive Schedule, level I[2] |
Website | www |
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government.The Attorney General is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government. The Attorney General serves as a member of the President's Cabinet, but is the only cabinet department head who is not given the title Secretary.
The current Attorney General is William P. Barr since February 14, 2019. He replaced Jeff Sessions.
List of Attorneys General[change | change source]
- Parties
No party (1) Federalist (3) Democratic-Republican (5) Democratic (34) Whig (4) Republican (38)
- Status
Denotes service as acting Attorneys General prior to appointment or after resignation
No. | Portrait | Name | State of Residence | Took office | Left office | President(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Edmund Randolph | Virginia | September 26, 1789 | January 26, 1794 | George Washington | |
2 | ![]() |
William Bradford | Pennsylvania | January 27, 1794 | August 23, 1795 | ||
3 | ![]() |
Charles Lee | Virginia | December 10, 1795 | February 19, 1801 | ||
John Adams | |||||||
4 | ![]() |
Levi Lincoln Sr. | Massachusetts | March 5, 1801 | March 2, 1805 | Thomas Jefferson | |
5 | ![]() |
John Breckinridge | Kentucky | August 7, 1805 | December 14, 1806 | ||
6 | ![]() |
Caesar Augustus Rodney | Delaware | January 20, 1807 | December 10, 1811 | ||
James Madison | |||||||
7 | ![]() |
William Pinkney | Maryland | December 11, 1811 | February 9, 1814 | ||
8 | ![]() |
Richard Rush | Pennsylvania | February 10, 1814 | November 12, 1817 | ||
9 | ![]() |
William Wirt | Virginia | November 13, 1817 | March 4, 1829 | James Monroe | |
John Quincy Adams | |||||||
10 | ![]() |
John Macpherson Berrien | Georgia | March 9, 1829 | July 19, 1831 | Andrew Jackson | |
11 | ![]() |
Roger B. Taney | Maryland | July 20, 1831 | November 14, 1833 | ||
12 | ![]() |
Benjamin Franklin Butler | New York | November 15, 1833 | July 4, 1838 | ||
Martin Van Buren | |||||||
13 | ![]() |
Felix Grundy | Tennessee | July 5, 1838 | January 10, 1840 | ||
14 | ![]() |
Henry D. Gilpin | Pennsylvania | January 11, 1840 | March 4, 1841 | ||
15 | ![]() |
John J. Crittenden | Kentucky | March 5, 1841 | September 12, 1841 | William Henry Harrison | |
John Tyler | |||||||
16 | ![]() |
Hugh S. Legaré | South Carolina | September 13, 1841 | June 20, 1843 | ||
17 | ![]() |
John Nelson | Maryland | July 1, 1843 | March 4, 1845 | ||
18 | ![]() |
John Y. Mason | Virginia | March 5, 1845 | October 16, 1846 | James K. Polk | |
19 | ![]() |
Nathan Clifford | Maine | October 17, 1846 | March 17, 1848 | ||
20 | ![]() |
Isaac Toucey | Connecticut | June 21, 1848 | March 4, 1849 | ||
21 | ![]() |
Reverdy Johnson | Maryland | March 8, 1849 | July 21, 1850 | Zachary Taylor | |
22 | ![]() |
John J. Crittenden | Kentucky | July 22, 1850 | March 4, 1853 | Millard Fillmore | |
23 | ![]() |
Caleb Cushing | Massachusetts | March 7, 1853 | March 4, 1857 | Franklin Pierce | |
24 | ![]() |
Jeremiah S. Black | Pennsylvania | March 6, 1857 | December 16, 1860 | James Buchanan | |
25 | ![]() |
Edwin Stanton | Pennsylvania | December 20, 1860 | March 4, 1861 | ||
26 | ![]() |
Edward Bates | Missouri | March 5, 1861 | November 24, 1864 | Abraham Lincoln | |
27 | ![]() |
James Speed | Kentucky | December 2, 1864 | July 22, 1866 | ||
Andrew Johnson | |||||||
28 | ![]() |
Henry Stanbery | Ohio | July 23, 1866 | July 16, 1868 | ||
29 | ![]() |
William M. Evarts | New York | July 17, 1868 | March 4, 1869 | ||
30 | ![]() |
Ebenezer R. Hoar | Massachusetts | March 5, 1869 | November 22, 1870 | Ulysses S. Grant | |
31 | ![]() |
Amos T. Akerman | Georgia | November 23, 1870 | December 13, 1871 | ||
32 | ![]() |
George Henry Williams | Oregon | December 14, 1871 | April 25, 1875 | ||
33 | ![]() |
Edwards Pierrepont | New York | April 26, 1875 | May 21, 1876 | ||
34 | ![]() |
Alphonso Taft | Ohio (born in Vermont) | May 22, 1876 | March 4, 1877 | ||
35 | ![]() |
Charles Devens | Massachusetts | March 12, 1877 | March 4, 1881 | Rutherford B. Hayes | |
36 | ![]() |
Wayne MacVeagh | Pennsylvania | March 5, 1881 | December 15, 1881 | James A. Garfield | |
Chester A. Arthur | |||||||
37 | ![]() |
Benjamin H. Brewster | Pennsylvania | December 16, 1881 | March 4, 1885 | ||
38 | ![]() |
Augustus Garland | Arkansas | March 6, 1885 | March 4, 1889 | Grover Cleveland | |
39 | ![]() |
William H. H. Miller | Indiana | March 7, 1889 | March 4, 1893 | Benjamin Harrison | |
40 | ![]() |
Richard Olney | Massachusetts | March 6, 1893 | April 7, 1895 | Grover Cleveland | |
41 | ![]() |
Judson Harmon | Ohio | April 8, 1895 | March 4, 1897 | ||
42 | ![]() |
Joseph McKenna | California | March 5, 1897 | January 25, 1898 | William McKinley | |
43 | ![]() |
John W. Griggs | New Jersey | January 25, 1898 | March 29, 1901 | ||
44 | ![]() |
Philander C. Knox | Pennsylvania | April 5, 1901 | June 30, 1904 | ||
Theodore Roosevelt | |||||||
45 | ![]() |
William Henry Moody | Massachusetts | July 1, 1904 | December 17, 1906 | ||
46 | ![]() |
Charles Bonaparte | Maryland | December 17, 1906 | March 4, 1909 | ||
47 | ![]() |
George W. Wickersham | New York | March 4, 1909 | March 4, 1913 | William Howard Taft | |
48 | ![]() |
James C. McReynolds | Tennessee | March 5, 1913 | August 29, 1914 | Woodrow Wilson | |
49 | ![]() |
Thomas Watt Gregory | Texas | August 29, 1914 | March 4, 1919 | ||
50 | ![]() |
A. Mitchell Palmer | Pennsylvania | March 5, 1919 | March 4, 1921 | ||
51 | ![]() |
Harry M. Daugherty | Ohio | March 4, 1921 | April 6, 1924 | Warren G. Harding | |
Calvin Coolidge | |||||||
52 | ![]() |
Harlan F. Stone | New York | April 7, 1924 | March 1, 1925 | ||
53 | ![]() |
John G. Sargent | Vermont | March 7, 1925 | March 4, 1929 | ||
54 | ![]() |
William D. Mitchell | Minnesota | March 4, 1929 | March 4, 1933 | Herbert Hoover | |
55 | ![]() |
Homer Stille Cummings | Connecticut | March 4, 1933 | January 1, 1939 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | |
56 | ![]() |
Frank Murphy | Michigan | January 2, 1939 | January 18, 1940 | ||
57 | ![]() |
Robert H. Jackson | New York | January 18, 1940 | August 25, 1941 | ||
58 | ![]() |
Francis Biddle | Pennsylvania | August 26, 1941 | June 26, 1945 | ||
Harry S Truman | |||||||
59 | ![]() |
Tom C. Clark | Texas | June 27, 1945 | July 26, 1949 | ||
60 | ![]() |
J. Howard McGrath | Rhode Island | July 27, 1949 | April 3, 1952 | ||
61 | ![]() |
James P. McGranery | Pennsylvania | April 4, 1952 | January 20, 1953 | ||
62 | ![]() |
Herbert Brownell Jr. | New York | January 21, 1953 | October 23, 1957 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | |
63 | ![]() |
William P. Rogers | Maryland | October 23, 1957 | January 20, 1961 | ||
64 | ![]() |
Robert F. Kennedy | Massachusetts | January 20, 1961 | September 3, 1964 | John F. Kennedy | |
Lyndon B. Johnson | |||||||
65 | ![]() |
Nicholas Katzenbach | Illinois | September 4, 1964[a] | January 28, 1965 | ||
January 28, 1965 | November 28, 1966 | ||||||
66 | ![]() |
Ramsey Clark | Texas | November 28, 1966[a] | March 10, 1967 | ||
March 10, 1967 | January 20, 1969 | ||||||
67 | ![]() |
John N. Mitchell | New York | January 20, 1969 | February 15, 1972 | Richard Nixon | |
68 | ![]() |
Richard Kleindienst | Arizona | February 15, 1972 | May 25, 1973 | ||
69 | ![]() |
Elliot Richardson | Massachusetts | May 25, 1973 | October 20, 1973 | ||
– | ![]() |
Robert Bork[b] Acting |
Pennsylvania | October 20, 1973 | January 4, 1974 | ||
70 | ![]() |
William B. Saxbe | Ohio | January 4, 1974 | January 14, 1975 | ||
Gerald Ford | |||||||
71 | ![]() |
Edward H. Levi | Illinois | January 14, 1975 | January 20, 1977 | ||
– | ![]() |
Dick Thornburgh[c] Acting |
Pennsylvania | January 20, 1977 | January 26, 1977 | Jimmy Carter | |
72 | ![]() |
Griffin Bell | Georgia | January 26, 1977 | August 16, 1979 | ||
73 | ![]() |
Benjamin Civiletti | Maryland | August 16, 1979 | January 19, 1981 | ||
74 | ![]() |
William French Smith | California | January 23, 1981 | February 25, 1985 | Ronald Reagan | |
75 | ![]() |
Edwin Meese | California | February 25, 1985 | August 12, 1988 | ||
76 | ![]() |
Dick Thornburgh | Pennsylvania | August 12, 1988 | August 15, 1991 | ||
George H. W. Bush | |||||||
77 | ![]() |
William Barr | New York | August 16, 1991[a] | November 26, 1991 | ||
November 26, 1991 | January 20, 1993 | ||||||
– | Stuart M. Gerson[d] Acting |
Washington, D.C. | January 20, 1993 | March 12, 1993 | Bill Clinton | ||
78 | ![]() |
Janet Reno | Florida | March 12, 1993 | January 20, 2001 | ||
– | ![]() |
Eric Holder[e] Acting |
Washington, D.C. | January 20, 2001 | February 2, 2001 | George W. Bush | |
79 | ![]() |
John Ashcroft | Missouri | February 2, 2001 | February 3, 2005 | ||
80 | ![]() |
Alberto Gonzales | Texas | February 3, 2005 | September 17, 2007 | ||
– | ![]() |
Paul Clement[f] Acting |
Washington, D.C. | September 17, 2007 | September 18, 2007 | ||
– | ![]() |
Peter Keisler[f] Acting |
Washington, D.C. | September 18, 2007 | November 9, 2007 | ||
81 | ![]() |
Michael Mukasey | New York | November 9, 2007 | January 20, 2009 | ||
– | ![]() |
Mark Filip Acting |
Illinois | January 20, 2009 | February 3, 2009 | Barack Obama | |
82 | ![]() |
Eric Holder | Washington, D.C. | February 3, 2009 | April 27, 2015 | ||
83 | ![]() |
Loretta Lynch | New York | April 27, 2015 | January 20, 2017 | ||
– | ![]() |
Sally Yates[g] Acting |
Georgia | January 20, 2017 | January 30, 2017 | Donald Trump | |
– | ![]() |
Dana Boente Acting |
Virginia | January 30, 2017 | February 9, 2017 | ||
84 | ![]() |
Jeff Sessions | Alabama | February 9, 2017 | November 7, 2018 | ||
– | ![]() |
Matthew Whitaker Acting[h] |
Iowa | November 7, 2018 | February 14, 2019 | ||
85 | ![]() |
William Barr | Virginia | February 14, 2019 | Incumbent |
Notes[change | change source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Served as acting attorney general in his capacity as deputy attorney general, until his own appointment and confirmation as attorney general.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Served as acting attorney general in his capacity as Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Civil Division.[3][4] Gerson was fourth in the line of succession at the Justice Department, but other senior DOJ officials had already resigned.[5] Janet Reno, President Clinton's nominee for attorney general, was confirmed on March 12,[6] and he resigned the same day.[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.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 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.[7] 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.[8][9] According to administration officials, Clement became acting attorney general at 12:01 am September 17, 2007, and left office 24 hours later.[10] Keisler served as acting attorney general until the confirmation of Michael Mukasey on November 9, 2007.
- ↑ Served as acting attorney general in her capacity as deputy attorney general, until she was fired after stating that the Department of Justice would not defend an executive order in court.[11]
- ↑ 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.[12] Maryland filed an injunction against Whitaker's appointment on this basis.[13] John E. Bies at Lawfare regarded it as an unresolved question.[14] The DOJ Office of Legal Counsel released a legal opinion, asserting that the appointment was legal and consistent with past precedent.[15]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act". Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- ↑ 5 U.S.C. § 5312.
- ↑ Cahoon, Ben (2000). "United States Government". World Statesmen. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
January 20, 1993 – March 12, 1993 Stuart M. Gerson (acting) (b. 1944)
- ↑ Staff reporter (February 21, 1993). "Stuart Gerson's Parting Shot". New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
As supporters of the Brady gun-control bill prepare to introduce it in Congress yet again this week, they find a welcome, if unlikely, ally in Stuart Gerson, the Acting Attorney General. Because President Clinton has had so many problems finding a new Attorney General, Mr. Gerson remains in office...
- ↑ Labaton, Stephen (January 25, 1993). "Notes on Justice; Who's in Charge? Bush Holdover Says He Is, but Two Clinton Men Differ". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ifill, Gwen (March 12, 1993). "Reno Confirmed in Top Justice Job". New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
She will replace Acting Attorney General Stuart M. Gerson, a holdover appointee from the Bush Administration. Ms. Reno said he resigned today.
- ↑ Meyers, Steven Lee (August 27, 2007). "Embattled Attorney General Resigns". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2007.
- ↑ "President Bush Announces Judge Michael Mukasey as Nominee for Attorney General", White House press release, September 17, 2007
- ↑
"Bush Text on Attorney General Nomination". NewsOK.com. The Oklahoman. The Associated Press. September 17, 2007. Retrieved September 18, 2007. Italic or bold markup not allowed in:
|publisher=
(help) - ↑ Eggen, Dan; Elizabeth Williamson (September 19, 2007). "Democrats May Tie Confirmation to Gonzales Papers". Washington Post. pp. A10. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
- ↑ Perez, Evan; Diamond, Jeremy (January 30, 2017). "Trump fires acting AG after she declines to defend travel ban". CNN. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ↑ "Opinion | Trump's Appointment of the Acting Attorney General Is Unconstitutional". Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- ↑ "Maryland Says Matthew Whitaker Appointment As Acting Attorney General Is Unlawful". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- ↑ "Matthew Whitaker's Appointment as Acting Attorney General: Three Lingering Questions". Lawfare. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- ↑ CNN, Laura Jarrett,. "DOJ says Whitaker's appointment as acting attorney general is constitutional". CNN. Retrieved 2018-11-15.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)