The Trump administration is engaged in a power struggle with the nation’s judiciary over who can determine the top federal prosecutors in each region, leading to confusion over who’s in charge of regional offices across the country.
At least six times, judges have disqualified politically appointed interim U.S. attorneys after their terms have expired. But the Department of Justice has left them in place by giving them different titles.
Then, when judges exercise their legal authority to appoint replacements from within the ranks of U.S. attorneys’ offices, DOJ officials quickly fire these longtime career employees.