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Appeals Courts Block Trump's Attempts to Install Allies as U.S. Attorneys
By Drooid · · How we work
Appeals Courts Reject Acting Appointments
Three federal appellate courts have ruled that President Donald Trump’s practice of naming political allies to serve as acting United States attorneys violates the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. The courts held that the president exceeded the statutory limits on who may occupy these positions when vacancies exist, thereby invalidating the temporary appointments in the affected districts.
Legal Background and the Vacancies Reform Act
The Federal Vacancies Reform Act governs temporary filling of senior federal roles that normally require Senate confirmation. While it permits certain short-term exceptions, the law was designed to prevent the president from bypassing the confirmation process for partisan purposes. The appellate decisions interpreted the statute to require stricter adherence than the administration’s approach, emphasizing the act’s role in maintaining checks on executive authority.
Administration’s Request for Supreme Court Review
In response, the Trump administration filed petitions asking the Supreme Court to review two of the appellate rulings. Officials argue that the lower courts’ interpretations “risk chaos” and could inject “mass confusion” into thousands of ordinary cases handled by U.S. attorney offices. Stanford Law School scholar Anne Joseph O’Connell, an expert on acting-official appointments, assesses that the Supreme Court is likely to grant review and may schedule arguments in the spring, with a decision expected by late June.
Potential Implications for Presidential Power
If the Supreme Court takes up the case, the outcome could become a landmark ruling on the scope of presidential authority to fill vacant positions without Senate confirmation. Legal analysts note that a decision favoring the administration could expand executive flexibility, while a ruling upholding the appellate courts would reinforce congressional oversight of appointments and limit the president’s ability to place allies in prosecutorial roles. The dispute therefore sits at the intersection of appointment law and the broader balance of powers between the executive and legislative branches.