1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Who Can Serve as Acting Attorney General November 15, 2018 A recent shake-up in the leadership at the Department of Justice (DOJ) has brought to the fore a number of unresolved legal questions surrounding
2、 the Presidents ability to name acting officers. The controversy began on November 7, 2018, when then-Attorney General (AG) Jeff Sessions resigned at the Presidents request. As a position subject to the advice and consent process contemplated in the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, the AGs o
3、ffice will remain vacant until a presidential nominee is confirmed by the Senate. But in the interim, the President named Matthew Whitaker, the former AGs chief of staff, to serve as Acting AG, performing the duties of that office while it remains vacant. To install Whitaker as Acting AG, the Presid
4、ent invoked the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (Vacancies Act), a law that authorizes certain government officials to temporarily perform the duties of most executive offices that require Senate confirmation. The selection of Whitaker to serve as Acting AG has generated significant legal debat
