Justice Dept. seeks resignations of Trump-era US attorneys

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department will ask U.S. attorneys who were appointed by former President Donald Trump to resign from their posts, as the Biden administration moves to transition to its own nominees, a senior Justice Department official said Feb 8.

The transition process, which happens routinely between administrations, is expected to take weeks and would apply to a few dozen U.S. attorneys who were appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate. Many of the federal prosecutors who were nominated by Trump have already left their positions, some in recent weeks.

It’s fairly customary for the U.S. attorneys to leave their positions after a new president is in office, but the departures are not automatic and don’t necessarily happen all at once. In 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked for the resignations of 46 U.S. attorneys who were holdovers from the Obama administration.

North Carolina has three U.S. attorneys: Robert J. Higdon Jr. in the eastern district, Matthew G.T. Martin for the middle district, and R. Andrew Murray for the western district. All three were appointed by Trump.

Lawyers Weekly staff contributed to this story.