Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice
Headline: Establishes Order of Succession for Attorney General Office
What it does: The order directs that listed United States Attorneys serve, in the specified sequence, as acting Attorney General when the Attorney General and immediate successors cannot serve.
- Provides a fixed replacement list to keep Justice Department leadership functioning.
- Bars people already serving in acting roles from becoming acting Attorney General.
- Revokes the previous succession order, replacing the prior chain of command.
Summary
This order sets a clear order of succession at the Justice Department for who will serve as Attorney General if the Attorney General and immediate deputies cannot perform their duties.
It names three United States Attorneys—the Eastern District of Virginia, the Eastern District of North Carolina, and the Northern District of Texas—to act in that order. It also bars people already serving in an acting role from serving under this order, requires eligibility under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, allows the President to depart from the list, and revokes the prior succession order.
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