United States Attorney General

The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The Attorney General is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government. The Attorney General is a member of the President's Cabinet, but is the only cabinet department head who is not given the title Secretary.

United States Attorney General
Seal of the Department of Justice
Flag of the United States Attorney General
Incumbent Merrick Garland since March 11, 2021
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
Formation	September 26, 1789
First holder	Edmund Randolph
Succession	Seventh[1]
Deputy	United States Deputy Attorney General
Salary	Executive Schedule, level I[2]
Website	www.justice.gov

List of attorneys general

Parties

  Federalist (4)   Democratic-Republican (5)   Democratic (33)   Whig (4)   Republican (40)   Political Independent / Unknown (1)

Status

  Denotes service as acting attorneys general before appointment or after resignation

No.	Portrait	Name	Prior Experience	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President(s)
1		Edmund Randolph	Lawyer, 7th Governor of Virginia	Virginia	September 26, 1789	September 12, 1813		George Washington
2		William Bradford	Lawyer, judge, Attorney General of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	January 27, 1794	August 23, 1795
3		Charles Lee	Lawyer, Acting United States Secretary of State	Virginia	December 10, 1795	June 24, 1815
								John Adams
4		Levi Lincoln Sr.	Lawyer, Acting United States Secretary of State, 7th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 4th district	Massachusetts	March 5, 1801	April 14, 1820		Thomas Jefferson
5		John Breckinridge	Lawyer, United States Senator from Kentucky, Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives, Attorney General of Kentucky	Kentucky	August 7, 1805	December 14, 1806
6		Caesar Augustus Rodney	Lawyer, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Delaware's at-large district, Member of Delaware General Assembly	Delaware	January 20, 1807	December 10, 1811
								James Madison
7		William Pinkney	Lawyer, United States Minister to the United Kingdom, 3rd Attorney General of Maryland, Mayor of Annapolis, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 3rd district	Maryland	December 11, 1811	February 9, 1814
8		Richard Rush	Lawyer, Attorney General of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	February 10, 1814	November 12, 1817
9		William Wirt	Lawyer, United States Attorney for the District of Virginia, Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Richmond City 6th Clerk of the Virginia House of Delegates	Virginia	November 13, 1817	March 4, 1829		James Monroe
								John Quincy Adams
10		John Macpherson Berrien	Lawyer, Judge of the Eastern judicial circuit of Georgia, United States Senator from Georgia	Georgia	March 9, 1829	July 19, 1831		Andrew Jackson
11		Roger B. Taney	Lawyer, Acting United States Secretary of War, Attorney General of Maryland	Maryland	July 20, 1831	November 14, 1833
12		Benjamin Franklin Butler	Lawyer, Member of the New York State Assembly from Albany County, District Attorney of Albany County	New York	November 15, 1833	July 4, 1838
								Martin Van Buren
13		Felix Grundy	Lawyer, United States Senator from Tennessee, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 3rd district and 5th district, Chief Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals	Tennessee	July 5, 1838	January 10, 1840
14		Henry D. Gilpin	Lawyer, Solicitor of the United States Treasury, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	January 11, 1840	March 4, 1841
15		John J. Crittenden 1st Term	Lawyer, 22nd Secretary of State of Kentucky, United States Senator from Kentucky	Kentucky	March 5, 1841	September 12, 1841		William Henry Harrison
								John Tyler
16		Hugh S. Legaré	Lawyer, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 1st district Acting United States Minister to Belgium, 7th Attorney General of South Carolina	South Carolina	September 13, 1841	June 20, 1843
17		John Nelson	Lawyer, United States Chargé d'Affaires to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 4th district	Maryland	July 1, 1843	March 4, 1845
18		John Y. Mason	Lawyer, 16th United States Secretary of the Navy Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 2nd district	Virginia	March 5, 1845	October 16, 1846		James K. Polk
19		Nathan Clifford	Lawyer, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 1st district, Attorney General of Maine, Member of the Maine House of Representatives,	Maine	October 17, 1846	March 17, 1848
20		Isaac Toucey	Lawyer, 33rd Governor of Connecticut, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's at-large district and 1st district	Connecticut	June 21, 1848	March 4, 1849
21		Reverdy Johnson	Lawyer, United States Senator from Maryland	Maryland	March 8, 1849	July 21, 1850		Zachary Taylor
22		John J. Crittenden 2nd Term	Lawyer, 15th United States Attorney General 22nd Secretary of State of Kentucky, United States Senator from Kentucky	Kentucky	July 22, 1850	March 4, 1853		Millard Fillmore
23		Caleb Cushing	Lawyer, United States Minister to China, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 3rd district	Massachusetts	March 7, 1853	March 4, 1857		Franklin Pierce
24		Jeremiah S. Black	Lawyer, Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court	Pennsylvania	March 6, 1857	December 16, 1860		James Buchanan
25		Edwin Stanton	Lawyer	Pennsylvania	December 20, 1860	March 4, 1861
26		Edward Bates	Lawyer, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's at-large district, Attorney General of Missouri	Missouri	March 5, 1861	November 24, 1864		Abraham Lincoln
27		James Speed	Lawyer, Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives	Kentucky	December 2, 1864	July 22, 1866
								Andrew Johnson
28		Henry Stanbery	Lawyer, Attorney General of Ohio	Ohio	July 23, 1866	July 16, 1868
29		William M. Evarts	Lawyer	New York	July 17, 1868	March 4, 1869
30		Ebenezer R. Hoar	Lawyer, judge	Massachusetts	March 5, 1869	November 22, 1870		Ulysses S. Grant
31		Amos T. Akerman	Lawyer, teacher	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	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		New York	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[lower-alpha 1]	January 28, 1965
					January 28, 1965	November 28, 1966
66		Ramsey Clark		Texas	November 28, 1966[lower-alpha 1]	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	April 30, 1973[3]
69		Elliot Richardson		Massachusetts	April 30, 1973[3]	October 20, 1973
–		Robert Bork[lower-alpha 2] 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[lower-alpha 3] 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 1st Term	United States Deputy Attorney General (1990-1991) United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (1989-1990)	Virginia	August 16, 1991[lower-alpha 1]	November 26, 1991
					November 26, 1991	January 20, 1993
–		Stuart M. Gerson[lower-alpha 4] Acting		Washington, D.C.	January 20, 1993	March 12, 1993		Bill Clinton
78		Janet Reno		Florida	March 12, 1993	January 20, 2001
–		Eric Holder[lower-alpha 5] Acting	United States Deputy Attorney General (1997-2001) United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (1993-1997) Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (1998-1993)	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[lower-alpha 6] Acting		Washington, D.C.	September 17, 2007	September 18, 2007
–		Peter Keisler[lower-alpha 6] 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	Acting United States Attorney General (2001) United States Deputy Attorney General (1997-2001) United States Attorney for the District of Columbia (1993-1997) Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (1998-1993)	Washington, D.C.	February 3, 2009	April 27, 2015
83		Loretta Lynch	United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (1999-2001, 2010-2015) Member of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (2003-2005)	New York	April 27, 2015	January 20, 2017
–		Sally Yates[lower-alpha 7] Acting		Georgia	January 20, 2017	January 30, 2017		Donald Trump
–		Dana Boente Acting		Virginia	January 30, 2017	February 9, 2017
84		Jeff Sessions	United States Senator from Alabama (1997-2017) Attorney General of Alabama (1995-1997) United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama (1981-1993)	Alabama	February 9, 2017	November 7, 2018
–		Rod Rosenstein Acting[lower-alpha 8]		Maryland	November 7, 2018
–		Matthew Whitaker Acting[lower-alpha 9]		Iowa	November 7, 2018	February 14, 2019
85		William Barr 2nd Term	77th United States Attorney General (1991-1993) United States Deputy Attorney General (1990-1991) United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (1989-1990)	Virginia	February 14, 2019	December 23, 2020
–		Jeffrey A. Rosen Acting		Massachusetts	December 24, 2020	January 20, 2021
–		John Demers[lower-alpha 10] Acting		Massachusetts	January 20, 2021			Joe Biden
–		Monty Wilkinson Acting		Washington, D.C.	January 20, 2021	March 11, 2021
86		Merrick Garland	Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (2013-2020) Nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (2016) Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1997-2013)	Maryland	March 11, 2021	—

Notes

1. Served as acting attorney general in his capacity as deputy attorney general, until his own appointment and confirmation as attorney general.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Served as acting attorney general in his capacity as Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Civil Division.^[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]
5. 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. 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.
7. 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]
8. Following the resignation of Jeff Sessions as attorney general at the request of President Donald Trump, Rosenstein served as acting attorney general in his capacity as deputy attorney general for a few hours on November 7, 2018 until President Donald Trump signed an executive order naming Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general later that day.^[12]
9. 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.^[13] Maryland filed an injunction against Whitaker's appointment on this basis.^[14] John E. Bies at Lawfare regarded it as an unresolved question.^[15] The DOJ Office of Legal Counsel released a legal opinion, asserting that the appointment was legal and consistent with past precedent.^[16]
10. Served as acting attorney general in his capacity as Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ National Security Division for a few hours following the resignation of Jeffrey Rosen at noon on January 20, 2021. President Joe Biden signed an executive order naming Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Human Resources and Administration Monty Wilkinson as acting attorney general later that day.^[17]

References

1. "3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act". Retrieved November 7, 2018.
2. 5 U.S.C. § 5312.
3. Stern, Laurence; Johnson, Haynes (May 1, 1973). "3 Top Nixon Aides, Kleindienst Out; President Accepts Full Responsibility; Richardson Will Conduct New Probe". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
4. Staff reporter (February 21, 1993). "Stuart Gerson's Parting Shot". The 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...
5. 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. Ifill, Gwen (March 12, 1993). "Reno Confirmed in Top Justice Job". The 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.
7. Meyers, Steven Lee (August 27, 2007). "Embattled Attorney General Resigns". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2007.
8. "President Bush Announces Judge Michael Mukasey as Nominee for Attorney General", White House press release, September 17, 2007
9. "Bush Text on Attorney General Nomination". NewsOK.com. The Oklahoman. The Associated Press. September 17, 2007. Retrieved September 18, 2007.
10. Eggen, Dan; Elizabeth Williamson (September 19, 2007). "Democrats May Tie Confirmation to Gonzales Papers". The Washington Post. pp. A10. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
11. Perez, Evan; Diamond, Jeremy (January 30, 2017). "Trump fires acting AG after she declines to defend travel ban". CNN. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
12. Blitzer, Ronn (November 7, 2018). "Attorney General Jeff Sessions is Out. Here's What Could Happen Next". Law & Crime. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
13. "Opinion | Trump's Appointment of the Acting Attorney General Is Unconstitutional". Retrieved 2018-11-15.
14. "Maryland Says Matthew Whitaker Appointment As Acting Attorney General Is Unlawful". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
15. "Matthew Whitaker's Appointment as Acting Attorney General: Three Lingering Questions". Lawfare. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
16. Jarrett, Laura. "DOJ says Whitaker's appointment as acting attorney general is constitutional". CNN. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
17. "Trump's acting attorney general leaves without creating controversial special counsels". CNN.